KNUCKLE UNDER Synonyms: 54 Similar and Opposite Words

knuckle under

verb

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

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of knuckle under That’s a clear message to others to get in line and knuckle under — or else. —

Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026 How much of this is a bluff designed to get Senate Democrats to knuckle under and vote to reopen the government and how much of this is wishcasting by MAGA? —

Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 10 Oct. 2025 Those that didn’t knuckle under — or otherwise incurred Trump’s wrath — got hit harder earlier this month. —

Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2025 But in an era when entertainment companies, along with politicians and seemingly everyone else, race to knuckle under to Trump's bullying and litigious tactics, the episode is still a shock. —

Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 24 July 2025 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. —

Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025 Of course, Cruz knuckled under a little while later. —

James Hohmann, Washington Post, 9 July 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knuckle under

Verb

Her elder two sisters died at 10 and 11; her sister Anne at 29; her ne’er-do-well brother Branwell at 31; and Charlotte at the ripe age of 38—all succumbing to tuberculosis.

— Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
Inside, rather than succumbing to the pull of an open floor plan, Rai leaned into the home’s distinct zones and cozy nooks, which are evocative of another era.

— Linne Halpern, Architectural Digest, 12 Feb. 2026