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consent

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word consent distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of consent are accede, acquiesce, agree, assent, and subscribe. While all these words mean "to concur with what has been proposed," consent involves the will or feelings and indicates compliance with what is requested or desired.

consented to their daughter's going

When could accede be used to replace consent?

In some situations, the words accede and consent are roughly equivalent. However, accede implies a yielding, often under pressure, of assent or consent.

officials acceded to the prisoners' demands

When would acquiesce be a good substitute for consent?

The words acquiesce and consent can be used in similar contexts, but acquiesce implies tacit acceptance or forbearance of opposition.

acquiesced to his boss's wishes

Where would agree be a reasonable alternative to consent?

While the synonyms agree and consent are close in meaning, agree sometimes implies previous difference of opinion or attempts at persuasion.

finally agreed to come along

When might assent be a better fit than consent?

The synonyms assent and consent are sometimes interchangeable, but assent implies an act involving the understanding or judgment and applies to propositions or opinions.

voters assented to the proposal

When can subscribe be used instead of consent?

The words subscribe and consent are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, subscribe implies not only consent or assent but hearty approval and active support.

subscribes wholeheartedly to the idea

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of consent
Noun
First lady Melania Trump called out congressional Democrats during a Capitol Hill Roundtable on Monday afternoon over a bill that would criminalize the sharing of intimate imagery online without consent. Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025 In 1776, when King George tried to seize illegitimate control over the colonists by taxing them without their consent, the citizenry launched the American Revolutionary War. David McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 3 Mar. 2025
Verb
This will surely come across in these hearings if senators take seriously their responsibility to advise and consent on the president’s cabinet-level selections. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2025 Access to private areas of a business, such as a kitchen or staff break room, requires a warrant signed by a judge or consent from the business because of the Fourth Amendment, according to the National Immigration Law Center (NILC). Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for consent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for consent
Noun
  • Alas for true love and territorial aspirations, on his way back to St. Petersburg for further orders and permission to marry, Rezanov got sick, again and again, and finally died after falling from his horse.
    Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Excerpted by permission of Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
    Ana Calderone, People.com, 28 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Ramaphosa assented to the law on Jan. 23 after five years of public consultation and parliamentary debate.
    Chad de Guzman, TIME, 7 Feb. 2025
  • But the Lebanese government requested the move, and the majority of the Lebanese parliament was ready to assent to the court.
    William Harris, Foreign Affairs, 30 June 2011
Noun
  • All the mayors, Johnson included, were effective in arguing that their cities’ law enforcement officers cooperate routinely with the feds in enforcing criminal warrants for people in the country without authorization.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Without authorization from the agency, the payouts cannot go forward, the sources said.
    Douglas Gillison, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • And the parties hoping to form Germany’s next government agreed to overhaul borrowing rules to inject more money into the military, although this must still be approved by parliament.
    Anna Cooban, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Elections last September produced a largely inconclusive result, and for three months the ‘ruling’ centre-right OVP party and a host of smaller parties - Social Democrats and liberal Neos party (and the Greens) - struggled to agree on a coalition programme.
    Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Consent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/consent. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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