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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of surrender
Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 15 May 2026
He was released without bail after being arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court the next day but ordered to surrender his passport and follow a strict curfew.
—Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 14 May 2026
Matthew S Williams, Interesting Engineering, 7 May 2026
The surrender went into effect late at night.
—USA Today, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for surrender
Verb
In all, the Ducks surrendered the first goal in 49 of 82 regular-season games, eight of 12 playoff contests and 57 of 94 matches overall.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 15 May 2026
He was released without bail after being arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court the next day but ordered to surrender his passport and follow a strict curfew.
—Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 14 May 2026
Noun
With Italy’s surrender to the Allies in 1943, all major tank battles involving their forces came to a halt.
—Matthew S Williams, Interesting Engineering, 7 May 2026
The surrender went into effect late at night.
—USA Today, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for surrender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surrender
Verb
-
There are outs not to be relinquished on the bases.—
Gabriel Burns,
AJC.com,
15 May 2026
-
Companies that violate the law could be forced to relinquish their earnings to a federal youth sports fund, from which the money would be used to reduce participation costs for families, provide scholarships and keep local sporting venues free for community use.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
One of the patients later succumbed to their injuries and was pronounced dead, officials said.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
-
When Montiel had it, doctors could only provide supportive care, as her body either fought off the virus, or succumbed to it.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
In other Western countries, many feel resigned to a lifetime of renting with little hope of following their parents and grandparents’ footsteps up the property ladder.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
-
Zilis, who by that point had children with Musk, resigned from the OpenAI board.—
Ashley Capoot,Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
And doing it manually — finding every broker, submitting every opt-out form, rechecking every few months — takes hours.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
-
The family began working with a contractor in March 2024, submitted permits by June, and officially began construction in early July, before wrapping up about a month later.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
To devotees of classic sartorial elegance—especially those who indulge that passion on Instagram—Alexander Kraft needs no introduction.—
Nick Scott,
Robb Report,
3 May 2026
-
Serge, indulging his penchant for modern art, buys a large, expensive, completely white painting, with some slightly-less white lines.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
2 May 2026
Noun
-
Wild-eyed in a register that ranges from dreamy to terrified to stunned into submission, her performance is the most honestly felt thing here.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
18 May 2026
-
But at 44 years old and 17 years removed from her last MMA fight, a quick submission was always a realistic possibility.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
The beautiful array of their divergent sizes and pelts coalesced as oils on canvas and rendered their exploits almost dreamlike.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
Nvidia’s GPUs, first developed in 1999 for rendering graphics on computers and gaming consoles, function by breaking complex computing problems into smaller tasks and resolving them simultaneously.—
Matthew Chin,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Everyone in the Democrat Party in Illinois was conceding the race to Republican Attorney General Jack Ryan.—
Gary Franks,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2026
-
But the team still gives up too many goals, with nine goals conceded over the past three games.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surrender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surrender. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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