Synonyms for surrender
- verb
- noun
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Capitulate
capitulate, relinquish, give up, abandon, cede, give in, abdicate, submit, waive, forfeit, yield, deliver, give, leave, sacrifice, give way, vacate, succumb, concede, turn in, quit, part with
2. Betray — to give up into the power, control, or possession of another
Other
Noun
1. Capitulation
2. Relinquishment — an act of surrendering, submission into the possession of another; a feeling of abandonment and resignation…
relinquishment, renunciation, resignation, abandonment, cession, yielding, submission, abdication, concession
Definitions
- v. 1
To give up into the power, control, or possession of another.
- v. 2
To yield (a town, a fortification, etc.) to an enemy.
- n. 1
An act of surrendering, submission into the possession of another; a feeling of abandonment and resignation; the deliberate cessation of struggle over outcomes.
- n. 2
The yielding or delivery of a possession in response to a demand.
Related words
- Word family
- surrenderer
- Phrases
- cheese-eating surrender monkey surrender monkey surrender value
- Is a kind of
- desist
Forms
- Plural
- surrenders → capitulations, falls, relinquishments, renunciations…
- Past participle
- surrendered
e.g. surrendered → capitulated, relinquished, abandoned, ceded…
Choose the right word
To surrender is to give up upon compulsion, as to an enemy in war, hence to give up to any person, passion, influence, or power. Yield implies more softness or concession than surrender; the most determined men may surrender to overwhelming force; when one yields, his spirit is at least somewhat subdued.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- abandon Many Armenians were forced to abandon their lands.
- relinquish Power is a drug which few ever manage to relinquish.
- cede There isn't a Monday that would not cede its place to Tuesday.
- capitulate Tom had no choice but to capitulate.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| surrender | steady | |
| abandon | steady | |
| relinquish | steady | |
| cede | rising | |
| capitulate | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- give1, fall1, quit1, cede1
- 5 letters
- leave1, yield1, waive1
- 6 letters
- submit2, buckle2, betray2, vacate2
- 7 letters
- deliver3, abandon3, concede2, forfeit2, succumb2, cession
- 8 letters
- delivery4, yielding2, alienate3, abdicate3, overgive
- 9 letters
- sacrifice3
- 10 letters
- submission3, concession3, relinquish3, abdication4, capitulate4
- 11 letters
- resignation4, abandonment4
- 12 letters
- capitulation5, renunciation5
- 14 letters
- relinquishment
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (submit2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- se rendre