Choose the Right Synonym for acquiesce

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

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Acquiesce means essentially "to comply quietly," so it should not surprise you to learn that it is ultimately derived from the Latin verb quiēscere, meaning "to be quiet." It arrived in English in the early 1600s, via the French acquiescer, with the senses "to agree or comply" and "to rest satisfied" (this latter sense is now obsolete). An early example of the word acquiesce in the sense of "to agree or comply" can be found in the writings of the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes who, in his 1651 masterpiece, Leviathan, argued that people must subject themselves completely to a sovereign and should obey the teachings of the church. Encouraging his readers to adopt his position he wrote, "Our Beleefe … is in the Church; whose word we take, and acquiesce therein."

Examples of acquiesce in a Sentence

… the tender understanding with which he had acquiesced to her wish not to consummate their relationship out of wedlock. — Dorothy West, The Wedding, 1995 … he seems to have acquiesced in his Christian Scientist wife's refusal to provide medical care … — Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review, 17 Dec. 1995 The main body of Shi'is, in and around Iraq, accepted 'Abbasid rule, or at least acquiesced in it. — Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, 1991 He passively acquired the reputation of being a snob, and acquiesced to it … — George V. Higgins, Harper's, September 1984 They demanded it, and he acquiesced. apparently the contractor expected me to acquiesce to my own fleecing See More

Recent Examples on the Web Only after Leon Jaworski, the Watergate special prosecutor, prevailed in the Supreme Court did Nixon acquiesce, resulting in his resignation on Aug. 9, 1974. — New York Times, 17 June 2022 Unlike Afghanistan, where rebel forces were able to base themselves in neighboring Pakistan, Mr. Putin will never acquiesce to the existence of sanctuaries and support for Ukrainian insurgents in neighboring states, including NATO members. — Zalmay Khalilzad, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2022 On numerous occasions, they were given reasons to acquiesce and set their sights on a title in 2023, only to take their play to new heights. — Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 June 2022 Chang-Díaz refers to the episode as evidence of her willingness to represent the voice of low-income residents and communities of color, and not acquiesce to legislative leadership’s demands. — Matt Stout, BostonGlobe.com, 1 June 2022 Nurses are also pushing for what is effectively a new tax on health care providers who don’t acquiesce to union organizing campaigns. — Patrick Gleason, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2022 But even she is forced to acquiesce to her father's baser urges. — ELLE, 6 Apr. 2022 Turns out amid this wild ride to Sunday night’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals that Tucker aligned himself with a coach open to compromise, willing to bend, even acquiesce. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 29 May 2022 There is nearly unanimous acclimation for their membership and Turkey—after perhaps extracting a few concessions—is expected to acquiesce. — James Stavridis, Time, 18 May 2022 See More

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