knuckles under
Yields to pressure
To knuckle under is to yield or submit to pressure or authority.
The image is of bending the knuckles in a gesture of surrender: After weeks of resistance, she finally knuckled under to their demands.
The phrase suggests reluctant capitulation rather than willing agreement.
- relentCease resistance or severity
- acquiesceSubmit without protest
- bowRespectful forward inclination
- capitulateYield under pressure
- wave the white flagAcknowledge defeat formally
surrender · yield · reluctance · coercion · bend · defiance · truckle · cower · beg for mercy · eat humble pie · resignation · buckle · submit · concede · kowtow · dominance · humiliation · succumb
submission vs. resistance
knuckles underresists
Actively withstands force
defies · holds out · fights back · rebels · digs in