1
as in to succumb
to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control)
encouraged her to stand firm and not knuckle under to political pressure
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to surrender
to yield to the control or power of enemy forces
the remote outpost was overrun and forced to knuckle under
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Recent Examples of knuckle under
The front lines of our legal edifice have been divided and conquered, with premier law firms knuckling under and meekly promising to shut up and work for Trump, while the Supreme Court carefully pulls its punches to avoid a showdown.
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Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025
Of course, Cruz knuckled under a little while later.
—James Hohmann, Washington Post, 9 July 2024
Miraculously, however, it is told in the voice of a musician, Rainy, a man who refuses to knuckle under and whose tones remain kind and more hopeful than despairing.
—Katherine A. Powers, Washington Post, 22 June 2024
Biden is all too willing to knuckle under both to the environmentalists who want to stop any new conventional-energy development and to the labor bosses who don’t want to see the ports modernized and automated, which might eat into their discretionary funds.
—The Editors, National Review, 23 June 2022
Please do not knuckle under.
—Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 25 Oct. 2021
His determination to hold on to his dignity, to not knuckle under, marked a pathway for our family to move forward, to expand on what he’d not been allowed to do.
—Deborah Johnson, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Feb. 2023
As noted in this space in 2015, the company required participants in its Times Journeys program — pricey overseas trips guided by Times journalists — to knuckle under to an arbitration clause.
—Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 24 Dec. 2022
Europe’s governing parties can’t knuckle under to Russian blackmail and retain their democratic viability.
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knuckle under
Verb
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Test cricket’s older generation is succumbing to Father Time.—
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In the coldest regions of its hardiness zone, plants can succumb to winter dieback during unusually harsh winters but generally recover well with new growth.—
Verb
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After the battle, the South surrendered Fort Gaines, which still stands on Dauphin Island.—
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Calvin Faucher surrendered six runs without securing a single out and Lake Bachar gave up three more as the Cubs posted eight runs on eight hits in the decisive sixth inning of a 14-1 Marlins’ loss at loanDepot park.—
Verb
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The council, which met for the first time on May 20, is expected to submit a report of its findings in November.—
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To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.—
Verb
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Speaking to Variety during the Cannes Film Festival, Leonidas Christopoulos, CEO of Creative Greece, concedes that there have been bureaucratic challenges since the organization’s launch.—
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Now, after dispute the accuracy of the video for several months, the defense concedes that the footage is disturbing as an example of domestic violence.—
Verb
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But Merz isn’t just bowing to demands from Washington.—
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Rome and Toronto openings are slated for this year, followed by Madrid, Lisbon and possibly some of the Middle East locales are expected to bow next year.—
Cite this Entry
“Knuckle under.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knuckle%20under. Accessed 31 May. 2025.
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