In the face of such ambiguities, the temptation is to declare defeat and withdraw from the world's violent corners.

"His choice is: Does he in fact claim credit for the things he does like, or declare defeat?"

This is no time to declare defeat.

If we are unwilling to commit American troops to this battle, we should declare defeat and go home.

We can now declare defeat, having flunked all eight goals we were to reach by the millennium.

Their attack, some said, was also a fundamental assault on American values, and to respond by constricting constitutional rights would be equivalent to declaring defeat.

They walked until Gillian longed to sink down in sheer exhaustion, ready to declare defeat.

He doesn't declare defeat when he's still fighting the war.

When a player can no longer stand the pain they declare defeat by shouting "Mercy!"

Just when she was on the verge of declaring defeat, he loped back down the steps of the charmingly ancient house.