1
as in to relinquish
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress
the toddler surrendered the doll to her mother after a brief struggle the commander surrendered the garrison without having fired a single shot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to succumb
to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control)
the father refused to surrender to his son's constant begging for a BB gun
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to resign
to give up (as a position of authority) formally
the aging queen refused to surrender the throne to her increasingly impatient heir
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to submit
to give up and cease resistance (as to a liking, temptation, or habit)
determined to give up smoking, she so far has not surrendered to her incessant desire to have a cigarette
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to capitulate
to yield to the control or power of enemy forces
General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, thus ending the Civil War
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to indulge
to give (oneself) over to something especially unrestrainedly
laid-off workers who surrender themselves to despair will almost certainly never regain their footing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in submission
the usually forced yielding of one's person or possessions to the control of another
the police demanded the surrender of all hostages as a condition for allowing the hijackers safe passage out of the country
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of surrender
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 29 July 2025
And then, something unexpected happened—my overactive brain stopped trying to dissect every moment and just… surrendered.
—Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 28 July 2025
Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2025
His attorneys seek release under strict conditions, including a $1 million bond, passport surrender, and limited travel.
—Amanda Castro
joshua Rhett Miller
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for surrender
Verb
The result is a tragic finale that doubles as a meditation on authorship in an era of endless franchises, and the cost of surrendering personal vision.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 29 July 2025
And then, something unexpected happened—my overactive brain stopped trying to dissect every moment and just… surrendered.
—Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 28 July 2025
Noun
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had agreed to declare and wage war on Japan three months after the surrender of Nazi Germany.
—Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2025
His attorneys seek release under strict conditions, including a $1 million bond, passport surrender, and limited travel.
—Amanda Castro
joshua Rhett Miller
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for surrender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surrender
Verb
-
The program was created in 2010 by the La Jolla Community Foundation and subsequently was relinquished to the oversight of the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 July 2025
-
Expensive, but necessary The Magic went hard after Desmond Bane of the Memphis Grizzlies, and had to relinquish a package that included four first-round picks, and a first-round pick swap to get him.—
Morten Stig Jensen,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Verb
-
When Kang Ji-won (Park Min-young) discovers her layabout husband Park Min-hwan (Lee Yu-kyun) in bed with her best friend Jeong Su-min (Song Ha-yoon), plotting what to do when Ji-won finally succumbs to the terminal cancer she’s been battling, Min-hwan murders her.—
Geoffrey Bunting,
Time,
1 Aug. 2025
-
My family's story reveals the scale of the coming storm—my father battles Alzheimer's, my uncle succumbed to Parkinson's, and my grandmother to Lewy body dementia.—
Shahriar Minokadeh,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
DeJoy resigned in March after President Donald Trump took office again and voiced his consideration to privatize USPS, meaning that mail service would no longer be public but rather owned and run by private companies.—
Mackenzie Thomas,
The Washington Examiner,
14 July 2025
-
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on July 23, 2024.—
Audrey Conklin,
FOXNews.com,
12 July 2025
Verb
-
With that filing, Duke must wait at least 120 days to submit a formal application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
25 July 2025
-
The new program allows customers nationwide to submit their ideas for new Whopper sandwiches on the chain's official website.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 July 2025
Verb
-
Take just five minutes out of the day to indulge yourself in a self-care exercise.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
-
One of the rare recent TV exercises not to indulge conspiracy-theory tropes but deconstruct and criticize them was Netflix’s winter limited series Zero Day, in which the British actor Dan Stevens played a villainous YouTuber peddling such theories.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
19 July 2025
Noun
-
Instead of offering a comment, Brigitte is resorting to trying to bully a reporter into submission.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
23 July 2025
-
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings.—
Jim Asker,
Billboard,
23 July 2025
Verb
-
These players were away for several days at the time when the burglaries occurred, rendering their places more vulnerable.—
Lew Sichelman,
Miami Herald,
31 July 2025
-
What these technologies that could open up the world, and the imagination, do instead is render their children ever smaller.—
Jeremy Dauber,
HollywoodReporter,
31 July 2025
Verb
-
Lana conceded Shasta’s behavioral issues, rooted in her trauma, were so severe that only a residential treatment program could save her.—
Lizz Schumer,
People.com,
29 July 2025
-
But for the purpose of examining this objection fairly, let it be conceded, that the principle, claimed for its support, is established.—
Liz Tracey,
JSTOR Daily,
29 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surrender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surrender. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share