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Antonyms for knuckles


Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : nuhk-uh l
Phonetic Transcription : ˈnʌk əl



Definition of knuckles

Origin :
  • mid-14c., knokel "finger joint; any joint of the body, especially a knobby one; morbid lump or swelling;" common Germanic (cf. Middle Low German knökel, Middle Dutch cnockel, German knöchel), literally "little bone," a diminutive of Proto-Germanic root *knuck- "bone" (cf. German Knochen "bone).
  • As a verb from 1740, originally in the game of marbles. To knuckle down "apply oneself earnestly" is 1864 in American English, extended from marbles (putting a knuckle on the ground in assuming the hand position preliminary to shooting); to knuckle under "submit, give in" is first recorded 1740, supposedly from the former more general sense of "knuckle" and here meaning "knee," hence "to kneel." The face-busting knuckle-duster is from 1858 (a duster was a type of protective coat worn by workmen).
  • As in brass knuckles : noun metal covering for fingers
  • As in submit : verb comply, endure
  • As in succumb : verb die or surrender
  • As in surrender : verb give up; resign
  • As in yield : verb give in, surrender
  • As in bow : verb submit, concede
  • As in defer : verb yield
Example sentences :
  • Whereupon they shook hands with a grip that whitened their knuckles.
  • Extract from : « Her Father's Daughter » by Gene Stratton-Porter
  • Kingozi's heart bounded, and his knuckles whitened as he gripped his rifle.
  • Extract from : « The Leopard Woman » by Stewart Edward White
  • The woman danced opposite to him, this way and that, with her knuckles on her hips.
  • Extract from : « Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates » by Howard Pyle
  • Ninian leant forward and tapped the table with his knuckles.
  • Extract from : « Changing Winds » by St. John G. Ervine
  • Boil one or two knuckles of veal, one or two shins of beef, and three pounds of beef, in as much water only as will cover them.
  • Extract from : « The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, » by Mary Eaton
  • His hands were clenched and the knuckles showed blue-white like marble.
  • Extract from : « The Strolling Saint » by Raphael Sabatini
  • There was blood on his knuckles where the vicious wire had torn him.
  • Extract from : « The Duke Of Chimney Butte » by G. W. Ogden
  • She tapped again and hurt her knuckles, and that brought her courage back.
  • Extract from : « The Prisoner » by Alice Brown
  • She scrubbed the knuckles of one hand roughly across her quivering lips.
  • Extract from : « Nobody » by Louis Joseph Vance
  • Garrison blotted out the insult to his mother's memory with his knuckles.
  • Extract from : « Garrison's Finish » by W. B. M. Ferguson

Synonyms for knuckles

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019