| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| assent |
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| SYLLABICATION: | as·sent |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   -s nt |
| INTRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: as·sent·ed, as·sent·ing, as·sents
To agree, as to a proposal; concur. | | NOUN: | 1. Agreement; concurrence: reached assent on a course of action. 2. Acquiescence; consent: gave my assent to the plan. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English assenten, from Old French assentir, from Latin assent r : ad-, ad- + sentre, to feel; see sent- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | as·senter, as·sentor —NOUN
as·senting·ly —ADVERB
as·sentive —ADJECTIVE
as·sentive·ness —NOUN
| | SYNONYMS: | assent, agree, accede, acquiesce, consent, concur, subscribe These verbs denote acceptance of and often belief in another's views, proposals, or actions. Assent implies agreement, especially as a result of deliberation: They readily assented to our suggestion. Agree and accede are related in the sense that assent has been reached after discussion or persuasion, but accede implies that one person or group has yielded to the other: “It was not possible to agree to a proposal so extraordinary and unexpected” (William Robertson). “In an evil hour this proposal was acceded to” (Mary E. Herbert). Acquiesce suggests passive assent because of inability or unwillingness to oppose: I acquiesced in their decision despite my misgivings. Consent implies voluntary agreement: Her parents consented to her marriage. Concur suggests that one has independently reached the same conclusion as another: “I concurred with our incumbent in getting up a petition against the Reform Bill” (George Eliot). Subscribe indicates hearty approval: “I am contented to subscribe to the opinion of the best-qualified judge of our time” (Sir Walter Scott).
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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