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