Recapitulate-Capitulate | Commonly Confused Words
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Recapitulate vs. Capitulate

Recapitulate

/ˌriːkəˈpɪtjʊleɪt/
To repeat the main points or summary of something

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.

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Capitulate

/kəˈpɪtʃəleɪt/
To stop resisting and accept something that was initially opposed.

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.

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Ways to tell them apart:

etymology
  • Recapitulate is like re-summarizing something, while capitulate involves giving up.
  • Remember that capitulate has a similar structure to surrender, while recapitulate aligns more with retell.
  • Capitulate is more about submission whereas recapitulate is about repetition of points.
  • Think capitulate like summit where one might surrender after reaching the peak.
  • Recapitulate has re- as a prefix, suggesting it involves doing something again, like summarizing.
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