succumb

[ suh-kuhm ]

verb (used without object)

1. to give way to superior force; yield:

   to succumb to despair.

   Synonyms: surrender, accede, submit

2. to yield to disease, wounds, old age, etc.; die.

succumb

/ səˈkʌm /

verb

1. to give way in face of the overwhelming force (of) or desire (for)
2. to be fatally overwhelmed (by disease, old age, etc); die (of)

Derived Forms

• sucˈcumber, noun

Other Words From

• suc·cumber noun
• unsuc·cumbing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of succumb¹

First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin succumbere, from suc- suc- + -cumbere (derivative of cubāre “to lie down, recline”); incumbent

Word History and Origins

Origin of succumb¹

C15: from Latin succumbere to be overcome, from sub- + -cumbere from cubāre to lie down

Example Sentences

Her mother died of breast cancer and her father succumbed to brain cancer.

From Los Angeles Times

“The Idiot” is a nearly five-hour slog by a Polish-Russian contemporary of Shostakovich about another Dostoevsky outsider who succumbs to visions of grandeur.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump famously does not drink after watching his brother and others succumb to alcoholism.

From Los Angeles Times

Peggy’s first husband, Jack Archer, succumbed to alcoholism, while her second husband Jack Woolley – with whom she hoped to enjoy a happy retirement - was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

From BBC

“I understand it to be a buoyant nature when you are possessed. You do succumb to being a conduit for the communication of ancestral knowledge and information.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bow
• break down
• buckle
• capitulate
• cave in
• cease
• defer
• give in
• give way
• go down
• pass away
• perish
• quit
• wilt
• yield