accede

play

verb ac·cede \ ak-ˈsēd , ik- \

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

Acceded to Ross' request for an unusual two-year hold on reselling the gift, even though university policy calls for disposing of non-cash gifts promptly.

— david jesse, Detroit Free Press, "How Stephen M. Ross' gift to the University of Michigan ended up in tax court," 27 Aug. 2017
Last week, the Portland City Council unanimously agreed to sell power to Portland General Electric, acceding to PGE's condition that the city not tell the public how much PGE will pay.

— jessica floum, OregonLive.com, "Portland Water Bureau's oversight officials call secret PGE deal 'paternalistic'," 24 Aug. 2017
If GOP leaders accede to his demand, then at some point late this week or early next, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will introduce Paul’s plan, which will fail.

— brian beutler, New Republic, "Rand Paul is leaving Trumpcare up to John McCain.," 25 July 2017
Google has little choice but to accede to her demands.

— mark bergen, Bloomberg.com, "EU Crackdown Threatens to Return Google to `Ten Blue Link' Era," 27 June 2017
Last week, right before Uber unveiled some of the results and recommendations of an internal investigation into its culture, Mr. Kalanick acceded.

— mike isaac, New York Times, "Inside Travis Kalanick’s Resignation as Uber’s C.E.O.," 21 June 2017
In acceding to the Democratic Party’s priorities, leftists risk allowing the Russia issue to become the ideological focus of the Resistance, while left theoreticians toil away, formulating systemic critiques that go unnoticed.

— michael tracey, New Republic, "Why Are Leftists Letting the Democratic Establishment Define the Trump Opposition?," 6 June 2017
Indeed, China, the next biggest economic power on Earth, would accede to the lead role in climate reform if the U.S. exits the Paris accord.

— eric roston, Bloomberg.com, "The U.S. Is The Loser as Trump Dumps the Climate Accord," 1 June 2017
In Afghanistan, the administration seems poised to accede to a troop surge, despite resistance from the State Department and some within the White House — including senior adviser Stephen Bannon — who fear the costly plan won’t work.

— missy ryan, Washington Post, "Military officers seed the ranks across Trump’s national security council," 28 May 2017

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

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First Known Use: 15th century

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accede Synonyms

Synonyms

acquiesce, agree, assent, come round, consent, subscribe

Antonyms

dissent

Related Words

adopt, embrace, espouse; abide, bear (with), endure, stand, suffer, tolerate; stomach, swallow, take; bow, knuckle under, relent, submit, succumb, yield

Near Antonyms

rebuff, refuse, reject, scorn, spurn; deny, gainsay

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.

- voters assented to the proposal

consent involves the will or feelings and indicates compliance with what is requested or desired.

- consented to their daughter's going

accede implies a yielding, often under pressure, of assent or consent.

- officials acceded to the prisoners' demands

acquiesce implies tacit acceptance or forbearance of opposition.

- acquiesced to his boss's wishes

agree sometimes implies previous difference of opinion or attempts at persuasion.

- finally agreed to come along

subscribe implies not only consent or assent but hearty approval and active support.

- subscribes wholeheartedly to the idea

ACCEDE Defined for Kids

accede

play

verb ac·cede \ ak-ˈsēd \

Definition of accede for Students

acceded; acceding

:to agree to

They acceded to our demands.

Law Dictionary

accede

play

intransitive verb ac·cede \ ak-ˈsēd, ik- \

legal Definition of accede

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)

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)

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)

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accede

Definition of accede for Students

Law Dictionary

accede

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