acceded; acceding
1
formal
a
: to express approval or give consent : to agree to a request or demand
—usually + to
The government acceded to their demands.
b
: to become a party to something (such as an agreement)
—usually + to
accede to the terms of a contract
2
formal
: to enter upon an office or position
—usually + to
He acceded to the throne [=became king] in 1838.
3
archaic, formal
: approach
Did you know?
To accede usually means to yield, often under pressure and with some reluctance, to the needs or requests of others. Voters usually accede to a tax increase only when they're convinced it's the only real solution to a shortfall in government funding. A patient may accede to surgery only after the doctor assures him it's better than the alternatives. If you accede to your spouse's plea to watch the new reality show at 9:00, you may get to choose something better at 10:00.
Synonyms
Examples of accede in a Sentence
His son acceded upon the king's death.
finally acceded to their pleas for more time to complete the project
Recent Examples on the Web
Some of them can draw from experience dealing with the first Trump administration: Mexico’s populist president at the time, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, forged a warm relationship with Mr. Trump, and Mexico avoided steep tariffs while acceding to demands to curb migration.
—
Simon Romero, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
That will come after both La Liga and RFEF (Spanish FA) have not acceded to change their stance and proceed to re-register both players.
—Pol Ballús, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
In Florida, state regulators acceded to all the deregulation demands of the insurance industry, and still insurers have been moving out of the state as damage from hurricanes and coastal flooding rise.
—Peter Green, Quartz, 18 Jan. 2025
But the government has claimed in court filings that the app has acceded to Beijing’s demands to censor content outside China.
—Adam Liptak, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for accede 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Simon Romero, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
That will come after both La Liga and RFEF (Spanish FA) have not acceded to change their stance and proceed to re-register both players.
—Pol Ballús, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
In Florida, state regulators acceded to all the deregulation demands of the insurance industry, and still insurers have been moving out of the state as damage from hurricanes and coastal flooding rise.
—Peter Green, Quartz, 18 Jan. 2025
But the government has claimed in court filings that the app has acceded to Beijing’s demands to censor content outside China.
—Adam Liptak, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for accede
Dictionary Entries Near accede
Cite this Entry
“Accede.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accede. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
accede
intransitive verb
ac·cede
ak-ˈsēd, ik- 
acceded; acceding
1
a
: to become a party (as to an agreement) by associating oneself with others
they were invited to accede to the covenant
b
: to express approval or give consent
the banker asks for collateral. The debtor…accedes, and transfers some of his property—In re Patterson, 139 F. Supp. 830 (1956)
In re Patterson, 139 F. Supp. 830 (1956)2
: to assume an office or position
acceded to the governorship
3
a
: to become added by way of growth, increase, improvement, or labor
the various improvements…had acceded to the realty and had become “fixtures”—Graham v. Henderson, 608 S.W.2d 150 (1980)
Graham v. Henderson, 608 S.W.2d 150 (1980)
b
: to come into control or ownership of something
a trustee in bankruptcy specifically accedes to all property of the debtor—Directory Int'l, Inc. v. Bates Mfg. Co., 91 B.R. 738 (1988)
Directory Int'l, Inc. v. Bates Mfg. Co., 91 B.R. 738 (1988)Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share