as in surrender
the usually forced yielding of one's person or possessions to the control of another
her sudden capitulation surprised everyone; she usually debated for hours
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Recent Examples of capitulation
Paramount’s leaders seemed caught off guard by Netflix’s capitulation, just like everyone else; thus, the company hasn’t commented yet on its victory, or telegraphed its intentions for CNN.
—
Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 27 Feb. 2026
House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican who is running for insurance secretary, released a statement shortly after Kelly’s announcement framing the news as a capitulation.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2026
Kaplan, the Anthropic executive and co-founder, denied the company’s decision to change course was a capitulation to market incentives as the race for superintelligence accelerates.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
The next drawdown from 2021 through late 2022 forced the stock to undercut its COVID low, marking a final capitulation phase before the current rebuilding process began.
—Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for capitulation
Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 27 Feb. 2026
House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican who is running for insurance secretary, released a statement shortly after Kelly’s announcement framing the news as a capitulation.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2026
Kaplan, the Anthropic executive and co-founder, denied the company’s decision to change course was a capitulation to market incentives as the race for superintelligence accelerates.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
The next drawdown from 2021 through late 2022 forced the stock to undercut its COVID low, marking a final capitulation phase before the current rebuilding process began.
—Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for capitulation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for capitulation
Noun
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If the former is about the inevitability of falling in love, a complete surrender beyond the speaker’s control, the latter confronts the pain of romantic love’s aftermath.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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In comments carried by semi-official ISNA news agency, Pezeshkian said any attempt to impose will or force the country into surrender is doomed to fail, and the Iranian nation will never accept such an approach.—
Alexandra Bacallao,
NBC news,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The flood of reports sent to the DOJ after her solicitation overwhelmed the few remaining attorneys, who were forced to rush to meet a legal deadline requiring the division to examine all such submissions within 10 days of their filing.—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
13 Apr. 2026
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The university also acknowledged two submissions that won honorable mentions.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Capitulation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/capitulation. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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