Give in X Give up

Can you explain to me the difference between to give up and to give in?

( I have consulted several dictionaries and I understand that the structure is different and they can´t be used interchangeably. But some cases puzzled me.)

E.g: I did my best to do the math test, but it was impossible as it was too hard. So, I gave in. ( Is this correct? I understand to give in as the same as "to accept sth even though you´re reluctant to", but in this case, can you say the that you accepted your defeat, as long as the ficculty of the test overcame you?)

Thanks,

Andréa.

[Tdol]

They have a similar meaning and can usually be used interchangeably in BE.

[henry]

I agree that they are very close in meaning. Have a look at the two definitions.

#1 If someone gives in, it means then usually that one admits that one has been defeated.

#2 If someone gives up= one stops trying to do something.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by apparrode

Can you explain to me the difference between to give up and to give in?

( I have consulted several dictionaries and I understand that the structure is different and they can´t be used interchangeably. But some cases puzzled me.)

E.g: I did my best to do the math test, but it was impossible as it was too hard. So, I gave in. ( Is this correct? I understand to give in as the same as "to accept sth even though you´re reluctant to", but in this case, can you say the that you accepted your defeat, as long as the ficculty of the test overcame you?)

Thanks,

Andréa.

Usually, one "gives in" to another person. One usually "gives up" on a task. In your example, I would use "give up". One can "give up" on a person, but that usually means to stop trying to help him.