retreat vs surrender

retreat

verb
  • To withdraw from a position, go back. 

  • To slope back. 

  • To withdraw military forces 

  • To shrink back due to generally warmer temperatures. 

  • a retreating forehead 

noun
  • A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security. 

  • The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position. 

  • A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base. 

  • A military ceremony to lower the flag. 

  • The move of a piece from a threatened position. 

  • A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude. 

  • A period of meditation, prayer or study. 

  • The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant. 

  • A signal for a military withdrawal. 

  • Withdrawal by military force from a dangerous position or from enemy attack. 

surrender

verb
  • To give up possession of; to yield; to resign. 

  • To yield (a town, a fortification, etc.) to an enemy. 

  • To give up into the power, control, or possession of another. 

  • To yield (oneself) to an influence, emotion, passion, etc. 

  • For a policyholder, to voluntarily terminate an insurance contract before the end of its term, usually with the expectation of receiving a surrender value. 

  • To abandon (one's hand of cards) and recover half of the initial bet. 

  • To give oneself up into the power of another, especially as a prisoner; to submit or give in. 

noun
  • An act of surrendering, submission into the possession of another; abandonment, resignation. 

  • The yielding or delivery of a possession in response to a demand. 

  • The yielding of the leasehold estate by the lessee to the landlord, so that the tenancy for years merges in the reversion and no longer exists. 

How often have the words retreat and surrender occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )