Give up and Start

Give up

Give up verb - To stop doing (something) permanently.
Usage example: I hope you won't give up playing the piano

Start is an antonym for give up in topics: abandon, bring to an end, admit defeat, stop doing something, prevent activity from going on.

Start

Start verb - To move suddenly and sharply (as in surprise).

Give up is an antonym for start in establish topic.

Both terms in one sentence

  • Anime / Pom Poko Humanity Ensues: The shape-changing tanuki eventually give up and start living as humans themselves, just as the foxes did before them.
  • Funny / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic So instructed, the writers pitch ideas at each other until they give up and start talking about hairstyles and daughters.
  • Web Video / Retsupurae Reference Overdosed: The guys try to take this trope to the absolute limit in their RP of Apocalypse dropping Bruce Willis movie references (since he starred in the game) for around 20 minutes until they give up and start referencing pretty much anything from pop culture by that point.
Cite this Source
Start and Give up. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/give_up/start
Give up & Start. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/give_up/start>.
Start or Give up. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/give_up/start.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "give up" and "start" have occurred on timeline