Definition

Noun: 1. The act of forsaking; abandonment: The act of relinquishing, surrendering, or renouncing something or someone. 2. A verbal act of admitting defeat; surrender: The act of declaring that one is beaten or cannot continue.

Usage

This noun describes the specific action or instance of surrendering or abandoning a pursuit, habit, or person. It is often used in contexts involving personal struggles, competitions, or addictions.

Examples

• Act of forsaking:
  • His giving up of smoking was a major achievement for his health.
  • The giving up of their ancestral home was a painful decision for the family.
• Act of admitting defeat:
  • After hours of trying to solve the puzzle, her giving up was met with understanding.
  • The team's giving up in the final minutes surprised the coach.

Advanced Usage

• "A giving up of the ghost": An idiomatic and somewhat archaic/literary phrase meaning to die or cease functioning.
  • The old machine finally made a giving up of the ghost.

Variants and Related Words

• Give up (phrasal verb): To stop doing or having something; to surrender.
  • You should give up unhealthy habits.
• Giver-up (noun, rare): One who gives something up.

Synonyms

• Abandonment: The act of leaving something or someone permanently.
• Surrender: The action of yielding or ceasing resistance.
• Renunciation: The formal rejection of something.
• Relinquishment: The voluntary release of something.

Related Phrasal Verbs (from the base verb "give")

• Give up on: To lose faith in or stop hoping for someone or something.
  • He refused to give up on his dream.
• Give up to: To devote or surrender oneself to something (e.g., an emotion or activity).
  • She gave herself up to despair.

Related Idioms

• "Don't give up the day job": A humorous way to tell someone they are not very good at a secondary activity and should stick to their primary profession.
  • After hearing him sing, I told him not to give up the day job.
• "Give up as a bad job": To stop trying to do something because it seems impossible or not worth the effort.
  • I tried to fix the old radio but eventually gave it up as a bad job.

Noun

1. the act of forsaking
2. a verbal act of admitting defeat