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

But those firings were essentially capitulations by teams that were already eliminated. —Beau Dure, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026

Iran got the United States to sign a document that even Americans described as degrading, mortifying, a total capitulation. —Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 18 June 2026

In a White House press briefing, Vance embraced his new role as the top cheerleader for the deal that some critics say amounts to a capitulation to the Islamic Republic and a sell out of Israel. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 18 June 2026

The Nuggets are coming off their most embarrassing playoff series in franchise history given the expectations and capitulation. —Troy Renck, Denver Post, 11 June 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