acquiesce

Synonym Chooser

How is the word acquiesce distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of acquiesce are accede, agree, assent, consent, and subscribe. While all these words mean "to concur with what has been proposed," acquiesce implies tacit acceptance or forbearance of opposition.

acquiesced to his boss's wishes

When is it sensible to use accede instead of acquiesce?

The words accede and acquiesce can be used in similar contexts, but accede implies a yielding, often under pressure, of assent or consent.

officials acceded to the prisoners' demands

When would agree be a good substitute for acquiesce?

Although the words agree and acquiesce have much in common, agree sometimes implies previous difference of opinion or attempts at persuasion.

finally agreed to come along

When could assent be used to replace acquiesce?

The meanings of assent and acquiesce largely overlap; however, assent implies an act involving the understanding or judgment and applies to propositions or opinions.

voters assented to the proposal

When is consent a more appropriate choice than acquiesce?

While the synonyms consent and acquiesce are close in meaning, consent involves the will or feelings and indicates compliance with what is requested or desired.

consented to their daughter's going

When can subscribe be used instead of acquiesce?

While in some cases nearly identical to acquiesce, 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 acquiesce Now, the move seems to be to fall into line — or, at the very least, to just shut up and acquiesce to MAGA inevitability. Felix Salmon, Axios, 13 Jan. 2025 Butler’s camp is ready to explore greener pastures, which certainly isn’t in Miami past this season, but the Heat are in no rush to acquiesce to his demands. Evan Sidery, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024 Harvey noted that creative figures should not always acquiesce to the CEO. Miles Socha, WWD, 28 Oct. 2024 As a result, rather than acquiescing and acquiring their couture from U.S. merchants as McKinley and his supporters hoped, the wealthy women took a stand. Einav Rabinovitch-Fox / Made By History, TIME, 7 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for acquiesce 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acquiesce
Verb
  • The three men appeared in worse condition than the 18 other hostages previously freed under the truce, which was agreed to in January, 15 months into the war.
    Joey Roulette, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
  • Cutting Medicaid spending comes with tradeoffs Many conservatives agree that shrinking federal spending on Medicaid will have two major benefits.
    Ryan Levi, NPR, 10 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Some of them assented to a ceremonial final flight, a last twirl for the cameras and dignitaries, like the Parisian leg of the Tour de France.
    Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
  • Even if Woodard contractually assented to her name and other identity rights being licensed and used in commercial products, whether the apparel contract is aligned with Woodard’s assent could generate disagreement.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
  • California law requires all parties in a conversation to consent to being recorded.
    Jenna deJong, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Drivers could not consent to only one feature, the FTC says.
    Jibin Joseph, PCMAG, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • 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

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Thesaurus Entries Near acquiesce

Cite this Entry

“Acquiesce.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acquiesce. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

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