English can often be a tricky language. Some words or phrases have similar meanings in some cases while not in others. The meanings of such phrases differ with every sentence they are used with.
One such phrase is ‘Give It Up’. ‘Give It Up’ is often confused with the word Applaud.
Give It Up vs Applaud
The difference between ‘Give It Up’ and Applaud is that ‘Give It Up’ refers to leaving or quitting something whereas Applaud refers to a way of applauding or praising someone by clapping of hands. However, in most cases, the meaning of ‘Give It Up’ and Applaud is similar.
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‘Give It Up’ refers to a way of telling to clap the hands specifically to praise, congratulate, welcome someone, etc. ‘Give It Up ‘ is a phrase in the sentence. Since the ‘Give It Up’ phrase is a homonym, it also refers to leaving or quitting something or someone.
Applaud refers to a way of applauding, praising, or congratulating someone mostly by clapping of hands. In English, applaud is a verb and can be interchangeably used with ‘Give It Up’ in most sentences.
Unlike ‘Give It Up’, the word applaud is not a homonym and carries only a single meaning.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Give It Up | Applaud |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It is a phrase that carries multiple meanings. | It is a verb that refers to applauding. |
| Words | It is a combination of three words. | It is itself a word. |
| Part of sentence | A part of the predicate. | A verb. |
| Homonym | It is a homonym. | It carries a single meaning. |
| Area of Use | It is used in speeches and informal communication. | It is preferred for both formal and informal communication. |
What is Give It Up?
‘Give It Up ’ is a phrase that is made up of a collection of three words. The ‘Give It Up’ phrase acts as a homonym as it has varying meanings concerning the sense it is used for in a particular sentence.
In most sentences, ‘Give It Up’ means the same as the word Applaud.
At first, ‘Give It Up’ refers to a way of telling to clap the hands specifically to praise, congratulate, welcome someone, etc., For example, ” Give it up for Mr. McGill! “. In the preceding sentence, ‘Give It Up’ is telling the surrounding people to clap their hands.
The exclamation mark in the sentence shows feelings of pride and excitement. ‘Give It Up’ is generally used in speeches, informal communication, etc., and is generally not preferred for formal communication.
Secondly, ‘Give It Up’ also refers to leaving or quitting something or someone. For example, ” Joe has been addicted to smoking but he is now ready to give it up.”. In the preceding sentence, ‘Give It Up’ refers to the quitting of smoking.
Since ‘Give It Up’ is a phrase that was later developed in the English language, its meaning varies with the situation of the sentence it is used in.
What is Applaud?
The word ‘Applaud’ became a part of the English language in the 15th Century. Applaud was derived from the Latin word ‘applaudere’ which means ‘to clap’.
It is a verb and carries only a single meaning for any situation of the sentence it is used in. In most situations, the phrase ‘Give It Up ’ has a similar meaning to Applaud.
Applaud is defined as a way of applauding, praising, or congratulating someone mostly by clapping hands. For example, “The audience applauded at the end of the dancer’s performance.”.
In the preceding sentence, applauded refers to the praising of the audience for the dancer’s performance.
The past participle form ‘applauded’ in the sentence can be replaced by the past participle form ‘gave it up ’, and the sentence would still be fundamentally correct. However, applauded is sounding more natural in this particular sentence.
Even though the meanings of both are similar, fitting any particular one of them in certain instances brings out the emotion in the sentence much clearer.
Since Applaud is a verb, it carries three forms including applaud or applauds for the infinitive, applauding for the present participle, and the word applauded for the past participle.
The noun of the word Applaud is Applause, which means approval or praise.
Main Differences Between Give It Up and Applaud
- When differentiating, ‘Give It Up’ refers to leaving or quitting something or someone whereas Applaud refers to praising.
- ‘Give It Up’ is a phrase and is a part of the predicate whereas Applaud is a verb.
- ‘Give It Up ‘ is a homonym and carries multiple meanings whereas Applaud carries only a single meaning.
- ‘Give It Up’ can always be used in place of applaud whereas the word applaud cannot always be used in place of ‘Give It Up’.
- ‘Give It Up’ is not used in formal writing such as emails, articles, etc., whereas applaud is preferred in formal writing.
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
