capitulate

/kəˈpɪ.tjʊ.leɪt/

//kəˈpɪ.tjʊ.leɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"capitulate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“capitulate” is uncommon English (frequency #52,836 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,836
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To surrender on stipulated terms, end all resistance, give up, go along with or comply.

Corpus desk

Index EN-capitulate · capitulate · English

capitulate · rank #52,836 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,836
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH canonization

Nearest frequency peer: canonization (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “capitulate”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “capitulate” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for capitulate
PropertyValue
Headwordcapitulate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kəˈpɪ.tjʊ.leɪt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#52,836
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “capitulate” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).capitulatelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “canonization” (#52,835), “Carmody” (#52,838), “butyl” (#52,833). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

capitulate is uncommon English at frequency #52,836 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /kəˈpɪ.tjʊ.leɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for capitulate in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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, parl… The correct English form is capitulate, spelled C-A-P-I-T-U-L-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To surrender on stipulated terms, end all resistance, give up, go along with or comply.
  2. 2
    To draw up in chapters, heads or articles; to enumerate, specify.
  3. 3
    To draw up articles of agreement with; to propose terms, treat, bargain, parley.
  4. 4
    To make conditions, stipulate, agree, formulate, conclude (upon something).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how capitulate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He argued and hollered for so long that I finally capitulated just to make him stop.
  2. The Irish, after holding out a week, 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.

This word in other languages

capitular(Español)capituler(Français)kapitulieren(Deutsch)capitular(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "capitulate"?
"capitulate" is spelled C-A-P-I-T-U-L-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈpɪ.tjʊ.leɪt/.
What does "capitulate" mean?
As a verb, "capitulate" means: To surrender on stipulated terms, end all resistance, give up, go along with or comply.
How do you pronounce "capitulate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "capitulate" is /kəˈpɪ.tjʊ.leɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "capitulate"?
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 bar... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "capitulate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

centerline#52,848Blacksburg#52,809bioscience#52,807cornstarch#52,871

What to do next

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list