Meaning & use

succumb

verb·Advanced

To stop resisting and give in to something overpowering, such as pressure, temptation, illness, or death.

See it in a sentence

After weeks of persuasion, he finally succumbed to his friends' pleas to join the trip.

The old oak tree eventually succumbed to the disease that had spread through the forest.

A note on using this word

Succumb is followed by "to," as in "succumb to pressure" or "succumb to an illness," and often implies a loss after a struggle.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

resistwithstand

Make it your own

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