CAPITULATING Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

capitulating 1 of 2

noun

as in surrender

the usually forced yielding of one's person or possessions to the control of another the tug-of-war will continue until the capitulating of one side or the other

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resistance

capitulating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of capitulate

as in succumbing

to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control) one side finally capitulated when it became clear that they couldn't win the argument

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as in surrendering

to yield to the control or power of enemy forces the city reluctantly capitulated to the invaders after a three-day siege

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of capitulating

Verb

Newsom criticized corporate and university leaders for capitulating to Trump instead of standing up to challenge his policies and rhetoric. —

Melody Gutierrez, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026 Tsai and Marks can at least point there — even if the Nets later compounded matters by capitulating to Harden in a deal for an injured Ben Simmons. —

Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2026 But here, such altruistic considerations do not justify capitulating to a lawless authoritarian in the White House. —

Max Potter, Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2026 New York — On the surface of it, Disney’s plan to invest $1 billion in OpenAI while licensing its characters to Sora looks a bit like Goliath capitulating to David. —

Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 11 Dec. 2025 Lawmakers claimed that banning state laws on AI is akin to capitulating to the technology industry at the expense of states’ rights. —

Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 8 Dec. 2025 But the United States gains nothing from Ukraine capitulating to Russia. —

Sergey Radchenko, Foreign Affairs, 4 Dec. 2025 Earlier in the year, Chuck Schumer, the Minority Leader, had rallied enough votes to keep the government open and faced a furious backlash from the Democratic base; capitulating again would have been politically intolerable. —

Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025 Since the beginning of this administration, Silicon Valley’s biggest bosses have appeased the president, capitulating to his every whim — agreeing to pay export taxes, giving away equity to the government, defunding schools for Latino students and ending diversity programs. —

Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for capitulating

Noun

That framing—control versus surrender—runs through Kapur’s entire philosophy.

— Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
In September, Beijing’s Tiananmen Square hosted China’s biggest ever military parade to mark 80 years since Japan’s surrender in World War II.

— Charlie Campbell, Time, 27 Jan. 2026