What does capitulate mean?
Word: Capitulate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Capitulate means to give up a long struggle and accept what the other side wants.
Synonyms: yield, give in
How do you spell capitulate?
Syllables: ca - pit - u - late
Tricky part: Pupils think of capital and write capitalate, but the vowel straight after the t is a u.
Watch out for: capitalate, capitolate
Memory tip: When you capitulate you tell the other side 'U win': put that u straight after the t.
Capitulate in a sentence
Example 1: The younger children begged so long that Grandfather capitulated and told one more story.
Example 2: Our team refused to capitulate, even when we were six goals behind.
Example 3: After a week of polite arguments, the club capitulated and changed the meeting day.
Fun Fact
The word goes back to a Latin word for a little head or heading, because the terms of an agreement were once set out under headings.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
During the long family discussion about where to spend the holidays, my younger brother finally decided to capitulete and agreed to visit our cousins in the hills instead of the beach.
a) family
b) holidays
c) capitulete
d) cousins
Show answer
c) capitulete. The verb ends in -ate, so an e cannot sit before the t.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word capitulate as used in the sentence:
In the chess final, neither player was ready to capitulate, so the game ran on until evening.
a) surrender
b) relent
c) submit
d) resist
Show answer
d) resist. To resist is to hold out; surrender, submit and relent all mean giving way.
Mingle-Mangle
The sentence contains a jumbled word. Choose the word it hides:
After an hour of pleading, Dad will surely eltucpaita and buy the puppy.
a) stipulate
b) culminate
c) capitulate
d) calculate
Show answer
c) capitulate. Capitulate is the only one of the four with both a p and a c and with no s or m.
Spell-o-Spell
Pick out the misspelt word in the list and choose its meaning.
1. negotiate 2. persuayde 3. compromise 4. capitulate
a) to talk things over in order to reach an agreement
b) to make someone agree by giving good reasons
c) to stop holding out against an opponent
d) to settle a dispute with each side giving up something
Show answer
b) to make someone agree by giving good reasons. Persuade has a u and then an a; there is no y in it.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these shows someone capitulating?
a) After finishing her homework, Anu went out to play.
b) After winning the match, Anu thanked all her team-mates.
c) After weeks of saying no, Anu let her brother choose the film.
d) After weeks of saying no, Anu was still saying no to the film.
Show answer
c) After weeks of saying no, Anu let her brother choose the film.
2. Why might a team captain refuse to capitulate in a long game?
a) she still believes her side can turn things round
b) she wants the match to finish quickly
c) she has been told the game is over
d) she has already accepted the result
Show answer
a) she still believes her side can turn things round
