Master confusing words with ease
Recapitulate vs. Capitulate
Recapitulate
/ˌriːkəˈpɪtjʊleɪt/Examples:
The professor asked her to recapitulate her thesis.He paused to recapitulate the argument succinctly.Please recapitulate the meeting's key points for us.
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Capitulate
/kəˈpɪtʃəleɪt/Examples:
The rebels decided to capitulate and avoid further bloodshed.After hours of negotiation, they had no choice but to capitulate.Facing overwhelming odds, the fortress was forced to capitulate.
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Ways to tell them apart:
- Recapitulate begins with re, indicating repeating or revisiting a point.
- Capitulate starts with capit, which sounds like capitulation, meaning to surrender.
- To remember, recapitulate relates to summaries, while capitulate relates to surrendering.
- Recapitulate is often used in academic or formal discussions; capitulate is used in contexts of giving up in disputes or conflicts.
- When you recapitulate, you go over head topics again (like recap); when you capitulate, you cap the resistance and give in.
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