accede

verb ac·cede \ ak-ˈsēd , ik- \

|Updated on: 19 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: accede in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of accede

acceded; acceding

intransitive verb

formal

1 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 : to enter upon an office or position —usually + to

He acceded to the throne [=became king] in 1838.

3 archaic : approach

See accede defined for English-language learners

See accede defined for kids

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 of accede from the Web

By using this language – and ending joint exercises – Trump acceded to Kim’s game plan.

— trudy rubin, Philly.com, "At the Singapore summit, President Trump got played | Trudy Rubin," 12 June 2018
Companies based in other close U.S. allies, such as Japan and Korea, are also likely to grudgingly accede to the Trump administration demands, analysts say.

— anant vijay kala, WSJ, "Buyers of Iran’s Oil Balk at U.S. Push to Isolate Country," 10 June 2018
In past years, Culberson’s panel would typically zero out funding for the ships, only to eventually accede to its Senate counterpart, which enthusiastically supports the vessels.

— jeffrey mervis, Science | AAAS, "Surprise! House spending panel gives NSF far more money for telescope than it requested," 21 May 2018
Citing three sources familiar with the conversations between U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan and President Trump, the Post also reported that Brennan has not acceded to the president's wishes for several reasons.

— CBS News, "Trump has pushed postmaster general to double Amazon's shipping rates, report says," 18 May 2018
Legislative Democrats have largely acceded to those demands, thereby narrowing the number of social services programs that can be boosted.

— liam dillon, latimes.com, "Gov. Jerry Brown offers part of a historic budget bonanza to help ease California's homelessness crisis," 11 May 2018
Tehran acceded to a 10-year restriction on nuclear production, agreed to shut down thousands of centrifuges and exported almost all of its bomb-making material.

— NBC News, "What is the Iran nuclear deal?," 25 Apr. 2018
Chinese analysts say Beijing will likely continue to use its economic and political clout to lure away other Taiwanese allies until Tsai accedes to China's demands.

— Fox News, "In blow to Taiwan, Dominican Republic forges ties with China," 1 May 2018
State lawmakers recently passed a bill that would give teachers a $6,000 raise, but many educators plan to stay out of the classroom until the state accedes to their demands.

— moriah balingit, Washington Post, "Arizona teachers, among the nation’s lowest paid, threaten to strike," 29 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'accede.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.

Origin and Etymology of accede

Middle English acceden "to come near, become adapted to," borrowed from Latin accēdere "to draw near, approach, side (with), be added (to)," from ad- ad- + cēdere "to go away, yield" — more at cede

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1b

See Words from the same year

accede Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of accede

assent, consent, accede, acquiesce, agree, subscribe mean to concur with what has been proposed. assent implies an act involving the understanding or judgment and applies to propositions or opinions.