succumb
Americanverb
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to give way in face of the overwhelming force (of) or desire (for)
-
to be fatally overwhelmed (by disease, old age, etc); die (of)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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succumbsimple
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succumbssimple
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have succumbedperfect
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has succumbedperfect
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am succumbingprogressive
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are succumbingprogressive
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is succumbingprogressive
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have been succumbingperfect progressive
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has been succumbingperfect progressive
Past
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succumbedsimple
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had succumbedperfect
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was succumbingprogressive
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were succumbingprogressive
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had been succumbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of succumb
First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin succumbere, from suc- suc- + -cumbere (derivative of cubāre “to lie down, recline”); cf. incumbent
Explanation
Use the verb succumb to say that someone yields to something they've tried to fight off, such as despair, temptation, disease or injury. If you succumb to cancer, it means you die of it. From this sentence you can see that this verb is usually followed by the preposition to. The Latin root is succumbere, from the prefix sub- "under" plus -cumbere "to lie down."
Vocabulary lists containing succumb
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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List 3
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Because sitting captains of industry don’t always know where to find signs of change, they often succumb to a kind of observational bias.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
If their CTmax is exceeded, insects succumb to desiccation, muscle spasms and eventual stupor.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
It nevertheless seems a good bet that, sooner or later and quite likely sooner, the market will succumb to the gravitational pull of insider bearishness.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
It’s the jaded who succumb to violence and hopelessness, dragging everyone down with them.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Most CF patients succumb to death before the age of thirty.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
The market might not be imploding so much as readjusting as the tech industry succumbs to more realistic expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
If it succumbs, a temporary oil-induced inflation blip could become something much longer lasting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
In the more pessimistic schema, Tesla succumbs to competition and margin pressure, the market disregards Optimus in valuations and Robotaxi has slower growth expected.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 8, 2025
Music: Controversial manager succumbs to complications of stroke.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
On 29 January 2016, the last hive of honeybees, located on an almond farm in California, succumbs to CCD.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
“She succumbed to a massive hemorrhagic stroke and never recovered,” he continued, before adding some cautionary advice to his fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Yes, bears: crypto slang for people who think the price of Bitcoin is going to fall or who have in some other way succumbed to crypto pessimism.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Europeans, and especially Western Europe's leadership elites, have succumbed to a decades-long "crisis of disbelief", argues Andrew Michta, a Polish-born American academic who is professor of strategic studies at the Hamilton School, University of Florida.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
On Wednesday, his lawyer Ménya Arab-Tigrine denied any wrongdoing by Siad—who was in his late sixties—suggesting he might have succumbed to the stress of being under public scrutiny.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
No raffle ticket, no Bingo, no policy slip, no clearing-house number, no magazine sweepstakes, no, nor any unpierced carnival balloon succumbed to her magic.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
You need to balance your enjoyment of the present with building a future in California, without succumbing to 24/7 pressure.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
He acknowledged succumbing to the “deal heat” Cohan mentioned, but never regretted it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
"Women should think twice before succumbing to the charm of all these Instagram beauties and going under the knife."
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
So the best investors can hope for in the U.K. is probably that the government will muddle through without succumbing to a political or fiscal collapse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
In order to keep Franklin’s officers and men from succumbing to boredom during their long winter months in the ice, the Erebus and the Terror each had libraries containing some three thousand books.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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