Give up and pursue are opposites of effort. To give up is to stop trying — to surrender the chase and let the goal go (give up trying, give up hope). To pursue is to keep going after something — to chase it with sustained effort, the gap still open (pursue a dream, pursue a career). One stops the chase; the other keeps it running.
These two face opposite ways on a goal still ahead. Give up is the plain phrasal verb for stopping — the effort ends, the goal abandoned. Pursue, from Latin prosequi ('to follow after'), is its opposite: the chase continues, the runner still after the thing. Where give up halts and sits down, pursue keeps driving forward. Give up is the chase ended; pursue is the chase still on.
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.
pursue
To pursue something is to go after it — to chase a person, a goal, or a line of thought with sustained effort. It comes through Old French from Latin prosequi, 'to follow after', and that following is the heart of it: a pursuit is all forward motion, the gap between you and the thing still open. You pursue a career, a degree, a suspect, an interest. Where to achieve is to reach the goal at last, and to abandon is to turn away from it, pursue is the chase still underway.
| give up | pursue | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | to stop trying; to surrender the chase | to keep going after a goal |
| The chase | halted | still running |
| Motion | stops, sits down | keeps driving forward |
| Often with | give up trying, hope, on a dream | pursue a career, a degree, a dream, an interest |
| The goal is | let go | still chased, still ahead |
| Example | He gave up the search at dusk. | He pursued the search till morning. |
They are opposites — the chase stops or keeps running. Give up is the figure who stops shoving the block and sits as the light goes out: the effort surrendered, the goal let go (give up trying, give up hope). Pursue is the runner reaching for a light that keeps its lead: the chase still on, always after the thing (pursue a dream, pursue a career). If you stop trying, you give up; if you keep going after it, you pursue it.
give up
- iMany give up just before things turn around.
- iiShe refused to give up on the project.
- iiiThey gave up the chase when the trail went cold.
pursue
- iHe chose to pursue medicine despite the odds.
- iiThey pursued every lead until the case broke.
- iiiShe pursued her goal with relentless energy.
They are opposites of motivation: give up ends the effort, pursue keeps it alive. The choice between them is the choice between sitting down and pressing on.