Meaning & use

surrender

verb·Academic

To stop resisting an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority, or to give something up.

See it in a sentence

The general refused to surrender even after his troops were vastly outnumbered.

She finally surrendered her seat to the elderly passenger standing nearby.

A note on using this word

Surrender can describe a formal military or legal act, as well as a more general sense of giving something up or letting go emotionally.

Words with a similar meaning

yieldcapitulate

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Another way to use it

2. noun

The act of ceasing resistance and submitting to an opposing force.

The treaty was signed the day after the army's surrender.

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