Achieve and give up are opposites of effort. To achieve something is to reach it through effort — to carry the work through to success (achieve a goal, achieve a dream). To give up is to stop trying — to surrender the effort before the end (give up trying, give up hope). One pushes through to the finish; the other lets the effort die.
These two are the two ends of trying. Achieve, from Old French achever ('to bring to a head'), carries the effort all the way — the goal reached. Give up is the plain phrasal verb for the opposite: the pushing stops, the goal left unreached. Where achieve keeps climbing to the light, give up sets the effort down and lets it go out. Achieve is the effort completed; give up is the effort surrendered.
achieve
To achieve something is to reach it on purpose and at a cost — to bring a goal all the way to its head after effort, not to stumble into it. The word comes from Old French achever, 'to bring to a head', and that finishing sense still clings to it: you achieve a result, a target, a standard, rarely a small daily act. It implies the climb behind the outcome, which is why we speak of a hard-won achievement and never of achieving breathing.
give up
To give up is to stop trying — the everyday, colloquial way to say the effort has ended. It aims at striving rather than things: you give up hope, give up smoking, give up on a dream, give up a seat. Where pursue presses on and achieve carries the effort through to its end, give up is the moment the pushing stops. It can mean a healthy letting-go of a habit, or simple defeat; either way, something that was being reached for is released.
| achieve | give up | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | to reach a goal through effort | to stop trying before the end |
| The effort | carried through to the finish | surrendered partway |
| The light | reached and swelling | left to go out |
| Often with | achieve a goal, a target, success | give up trying, hope, on a dream |
| Outcome | success | the goal left unreached |
| Example | She achieved her dream of flying. | He gave up on his dream too soon. |
They are opposite ends of trying — ask whether the effort was carried through or let go. Achieve is the climber who touches the light at the top and watches it swell: the work carried all the way to success (achieve a goal, achieve a target). Give up is the figure who stops shoving the block and sits down as the light goes out: the effort surrendered before the end (give up trying, give up hope). If you push through to the finish, you achieve; if you stop trying, you give up.
achieve
- iKeep going and you will achieve it.
- iiShe achieved more in a year than most do in five.
- iiiThey achieved the result through sheer persistence.
give up
- iHe gave up just before the breakthrough.
- iiDon't give up on yourself now.
- iiiThey gave up the attempt after the second failure.
They are opposites of motivation: achieve is reaching the goal, give up is quitting before you do. The two often appear together as the choice in front of someone — push on and achieve, or give up and walk away.