capitulate
/kəˈpɪt͡ʃ.(j)ʊ.leɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.50 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To surrender on stipulated terms, end all resistance, give up, go along with or comply.
Intransitive verb
verb
To draw up articles of agreement with; to propose terms, treat, bargain, parley.
Obsolete; Transitive verb
verb
To make conditions, stipulate, agree, formulate, conclude (upon something).
Obsolete; Transitive verb
noun
Example Sentences
- "He argued and hollered for so long that I finally capitulated just to make him stop."
- "The Irish, after holding out a week, capitulated."
- "BEFORE school rocketed into his tiny world with about as much warning as a sputnik, my son knew only little hates. I knew he had got himself a bigger one when he said to me after his first day there: “School, I HATE IT!” He’s been hating it solidly ever since . . . for all of ten weeks. If I was school . . . I’d capitulate tomorrow. I’d bonfire the books, drain the inkwells and bust up the blackboard — if only he would stop hating. It’s wearing me out!"
- "The CCP has refused to capitulate to Trump’s demands to come to the table and renegotiate their terms of trade."
- "The lawes […] which we capitulate at sea […] are not used on lande."
- "The places of serpents abode being thus generally capitulated."
Etymology
The adjective is first attested in 1528, the verb in 1537; borrowed from Medieval Latin capitulātus perfect passive participle of Medieval Latin capitulō (“(originally; of a book, text) to draw up under distinct headings; (from the 15ᵗʰ c.) to bargain, parley, convene”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from capitulum (“heading, chapter, title”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix), diminutive of caput (“head”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-. Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kəˈpɪt͡ʃ.(j)ʊ.leɪt/
- British English: /kəˈpɪ.tjʊ.leɪt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
capitulates (present, singular)
capitulating (participle, present)
capitulated (participle, past)
capitulated (past)
more capitulate (comparative)
most capitulate (superlative)
capitulates (plural)
Derived Forms
Frequently Paired Words
Synonyms
wave the white flag
see Thesaurus:surrender