Succumb | Definition of succumb by Merriam-Webster

Full Definition of SUCCUMB

1

: to yield to superior strength or force or overpowering appeal or desire <succumb to temptation>

2

: to be brought to an end (as death) by the effect of destructive or disruptive forces

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Examples of SUCCUMB

Lepanto occupies a curious military fault line between ancient and modern. It was fought with galleys almost identical to those that had clashed in this same gulf sixteen centuries before, when the ships of Antony and Cleopatra succumbed to those of Octavian at the Battle of Actium. —Colin Thubron, New York Times Book Review, 9 Apr. 2009
Last spring, the Knight Ridder chain succumbed to pressure from its largest private investor and sold off its entire lineup of 32 papers to the McClatchy Co. for more than $4 billion. —Eric Klinenberg, Mother Jones, March/April 2007
Yet after Paul died in 1978 and his successor John Paul I succumbed to a heart attack only 34 days into his papacy, Wojyla was so oblivious to his impending fate that he spent the first day of the new papal conclave nonchalantly browsing through a quarterly review of Marxist theory. —David Van Biema, Time, 11 Apr. 2005
Interviews with cadets, police officers and investigators trying to crack down on crime inside Mexico City's 80,000-officer force revealed that even the most earnest cops often succumb to the temptations that are both plentiful and low risk. —Alan Zarembo, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2000
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Origin of SUCCUMB

French & Latin; French succomber, from Latin succumbere, from sub- + -cumbere to lie down; akin to Latin cubare to lie

First Known Use: 1604

Related to SUCCUMB

Synonyms: blink, bow, budge, capitulate, concede, give in, knuckle under, quit, relent, submit, yield, surrender

Antonyms: resist

Synonym Discussion of SUCCUMB

yield, submit, capitulate, succumb, relent, defer mean to give way to someone or something that one can no longer resist. yield may apply to any sort or degree of giving way before force, argument, persuasion, or entreaty <yields too easily in any argument>. submit suggests full surrendering after resistance or conflict to the will or control of another <a repentant sinner vowing to submit to the will of God>. capitulate stresses the fact of ending all resistance and may imply either a coming to terms (as with an adversary) or hopelessness in the face of an irresistible opposing force <officials capitulated to the protesters' demands>. succumb implies weakness and helplessness to the one that gives way or an overwhelming power to the opposing force <a stage actor succumbing to the lure of Hollywood>. relent implies a yielding through pity or mercy by one who holds the upper hand <finally relented and let the children stay up late>. defer implies a voluntary yielding or submitting out of respect or reverence for or deference and affection toward another <I defer to your expertise in these matters>.