capitulation

noun

ca·​pit·​u·​la·​tion kə-ˌpi-chə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: a set of terms or articles (see article sense 1c) constituting an agreement between governments

2

a

: the act of surrendering or yielding

the capitulation of the defenders of the besieged town

b

: the terms of surrender

Synonyms of capitulation

• surrender
• submission

Examples of capitulation in a Sentence

her sudden capitulation surprised everyone; she usually debated for hours

Recent Examples on the Web

The latter, however, would upset the uber-nationalists and war hawks who believe that nothing short of Ukraine’s full capitulation is acceptable for the mighty Russian state. —Daniel Depetris, Mercury News, 23 May 2026

Iran has so far refused to accept any proposal that in its eyes would amount to capitulation. —Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 23 May 2026

The plot seems simple, but every glare and sigh tells a whole story about modernization, capitulation, cynicism and violence. —Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026

If that expectation is simply competence, well, after last season’s deadline capitulation, that’ll do. —John Shipley, Twin Cities, 22 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French capitulacion "division into parts, treaty, convention," borrowed from Medieval Latin capitulātiōn-, capitulātiō "dividing into chapters, drawing up heads of agreement" (Late Latin, "listing of subject headings"), from capitulum "heading or division of a document, chapter" + Latin -ātiōn-, -ātiō -ation

Note: The Latin noun is probably in part back-derived from rēcapitulātiō—see recapitulate. For sense development see note at capitulate.

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for capitulation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration