Cope

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkəʊp/

Definitions

1. To successfully deal with a difficult situation or problem
2. To effectively handle and adjust to difficult situations or emotional pressures while maintaining a sense of balance and purpose
3. To find ways to handle and overcome challenging circumstances ; to endure and work through psychological or emotional pressures

Etymology: The verb "cope" in the sense of managing a difficulty is not related to the "cope" that means a cape or ecclesiastical cloak, despite the identical spelling. Its most likely ancestor is the Middle Dutch "copen," meaning "to buy" or "to bargain," which English borrowed during the Middle English period. That same root gave German "kaufen" and Dutch "kopen," both still meaning "to buy," so "cope" shares a family with the verb for shopping. The link to coping with trouble is a little less obvious. The Middle English verb meant to bargain or to make a deal with someone, and from there it came to mean dealing with a rival or opponent on roughly equal terms. Over time that sense of contending with someone shifted toward contending with a situation, and that is the meaning that survives today.

Synonyms: manage, handle, deal, address, overcome

Antonyms: struggle, fail, surrender, yield