1
as in submits
to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control)
he finally succumbed and let his wife get rid of his dilapidated easy chair
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2
as in surrenders
to give up and cease resistance (as to a liking, temptation, or habit)
refused to succumb to her fears and defiantly walked through the dark cemetery
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3
as in dies
to stop living
the patient lay so still and pale that everyone thought he had succumbed, and then he opened his eyes
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4
as in falls
to yield to the control or power of enemy forces
the doctor worked tirelessly until finally he, too, succumbed to the fever
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Recent Examples of succumbs
Her sexuality is a source of conflict for her family, and the pressure leads to the painful breakup with her girlfriend, Rosie (Jess Gabor), who succumbs to family expectations.
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Robert Lang, Deadline, 17 Dec. 2025
Live, the band’s cataclysmic volume precludes close observation, and melodic detail succumbs to feedback like dust caught in an exploding star’s stratosphere.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025
Soon after, as Judith starts to recover, Hamnet tragically succumbs to the contagious disease.
—Nathan Smith, Time, 26 Nov. 2025
If someone succumbs to the heat, promptly relocate them to a cool, shaded location.
—Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025
And when that fish, in turn, succumbs to the claws of a bald eagle, its DDT dense meat becomes a poisonous lunch for an oblivious bird.
—Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025
The community's willingness to proactively strengthen its economic foundations today will determine whether crypto fulfills its promise as robust, trusted global infrastructure, or succumbs when faced with inevitable systemic stress.
—Mark R. Weaver, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for succumbs
Verb
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That depends on whether a taxpayer files electronically or submits a paper return, as well as whether the IRS identifies any problems with a filing.—
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But the work doesn’t end for Lata, even when her state submits its new roll.—
Verb
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At crucial moments, however, one force surrenders to the other to produce an ambiguous collaboration.—
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Dallas has given up the most passing yards in the league, and their secondary surrenders lots of open windows.—
Verb
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And if the giver dies during the five-year period, some of the gift will be added back into their estate.—
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First, Monty Miller (a suave, anguished Jon Hamm), Tommy’s lifelong friend and billionaire founder of M-Tex, dies suddenly, but not before naming the fixer as the new company president.—
Verb
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To Spoelstra, what such an alignment concedes with spacing can be compensated with offensive rebounds, with the Heat prioritizing possessions.—
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In the settlement agreement, Ceratizit neither admits liability nor concedes that the government’s claims are well-founded.—
Verb
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Priya, meanwhile, turns her suspicions on Jack as well as the elusive Catherine, who yields no results on a Google search save for an article about her dead older sister.—
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The ice yields nothing for free.—
Verb
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So Nude pair falls neatly in line — proof that even in full-metal glamour, minimalism with an edge is having a very good year.—
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Sabrina Carpenter’s chart-topping Man’s Best Friend slips 5-6 on the latest Billboard 200 with 38,000 equivalent album units earned (down 8%), while Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving falls 6-7 (37,000, down 3%).—
Verb
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Every soldier Harry would have saved on a transport during the war perishes too.—
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Factory ships deplete fisheries in a matter of years and an inordinate amount of sea life also perishes in their nets.—
Cite this Entry
“Succumbs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/succumbs. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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