ENGLISH
REFERENCE

succumb

v.
C1 Advanced US //səˈkəm// UK //səkˈʌm// suc·cumb Humorous

v. to stop fighting against something stronger than you. You might use this when you finally give in to a temptation, an illness, or a powerful person.

v. to yield to a superior force or an overpowering desire; to fail to resist pressure or temptation. Often used in medical contexts to describe failing to recover from a disease.


SIMPLE

I finally succumbed to my craving for chocolate.

CONTEXTUAL

After hours of intense negotiation, the committee succumbed to public pressure and voted to cancel the project.

COMPLEX

The ancient empire eventually succumbed to a combination of internal corruption and relentless external invasions, marking the end of a centuries-long era of dominance.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub- Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- Proto-Italic *kumbō Latin *cumbō Latin succumbere Old French succomberbor. English succumb From Old French succomber, from Latin succumbō.

Usage

The verb is intransitive and almost always takes the preposition 'to'.

Pitfall

he succumbed the illnesshe succumbed to the illnessSuccumb is an intransitive verb and requires the preposition 'to' before the object.

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