Strangely, these two verbs do not have similar meanings. They are originally related, but their modern meanings in English are not.
Capitulate means “to give in, yield, or surrender” – i.e. to declare that you are incorrect in an argument, to agree that you have lost a contest, or that you will try no longer:
I know that you are going to win, so I capitulate.
Capitulate does not mean to lose, to fail, or to be beaten; it means that you choose not to fight any more.
Recapitulate, in contrast, means “to summarize, or repeat, any process, argument, or statement”; most often it implies something half-way between summary and repetition—a detailed summary:
Please recapitulate the presidential debate for me, but try to make it brief.
The above sentence asks for a response of probably several sentences, at least; or even significantly longer. Recapitulation implies “going over” all of the main points, in order. Unlike summary, recapitulation emphasizes following the same order as the original presentation:
It is said that the process of embryo development recapitulates human evolution.
Recapitulate can also mean “represent and summarize” in many abstract ways:
Layers of rock recapitulate the geological history of the Earth.
I do not wish to recapitulate your failure, so I will let you win this time.
Which brings us back to capitulate—“to surrender”; originally, capitulate meant “to make a numbered list of statements” or “to divide something into chapters”; as this was a very common thing to do when writing up a statement of surrender, which is how capitulate gained its new meaning.
More Examples of How to Use "Capitulate" in a Sentence
- The captured soldier refused to capitulate to the demands of the enemy.
- The rebels were close to capitulating until they got a surge of new recruits.
- Management capitulated to the demands of the union, granting all their demands for a safer work environment and better pay.
- They refused to capitulate, even though they were outnumbered five to one.
- After two months of negotiations, the company finally capitulated and agreed to the union's demands.
- After weeks of pressure from the government, the company capitulated and agreed to make changes to its policies.
- We didn't want to give up, but we had no choice—we had to capitulate.
- The commander was worried that his soldiers might mutiny, so he decided to capitulate to their demands.
- I refused to capitulate, even though I knew it would be very unpopular to continue my fight against the school board.
- Roberto knew he should've capitulated, but he was too proud to give in.
More Examples of How to Use "Recapitulate" in a Sentence
- In general, recapitulation is a term that can be applied to a number of different scenarios where summary or repetition is necessary or use
- To recapitulate, the animal kingdom consists of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish.
- In biology, the process of recapitulation describes the development of an organism, in which the organism goes through the same developmental stages during its embryonic development as that of its ancestral line.
- This presentation will recapitulate the key findings of our study that completed earlier this year.
- One of the most important tools for scientific investigation is the ability to recapitulate important findings and observations.
- The teacher recapitulated the lessons of the previous week.
- The team won its fifth consecutive championship, recapitulating its winning formula from last season.
- In music, recapitulation is the part of a sonata form where the main theme is repeated.