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 All 16 later acquiesced in even more sweeping Medicaid cuts added by the Senate. Carl P. Leubsdorf, Twin Cities, 23 July 2025 In March, Columbia University also banned face masks at protests and acquiesced to a number of Trump administration demands in an effort to win back its federal funding. Grace Gilson, Sun Sentinel, 11 July 2025 However, the couple eventually acquiesced to the norms of the shore. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 11 July 2025 The studio is also operating in a supercharged political environment as Trump pressures media organizations to acquiesce to his demands, accusing them of political bias. Angela Yang, NBC news, 10 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for acquiesce
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acquiesce
Verb
  • On the episode, Simu Liu, who had previously led the daytime talk show for Clarkson in 2022, agreed to pivot from guest to host for the day.
    Stephanie Wenger, People.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Experts agreed that, in general, people without diabetes do not need to monitor their glucose levels.
    Kaitlin Sullivan, Health, 7 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • But even those who assent to most of his criticisms might balk at following Anderson to his final destination, which is to bluntly deny India much of a future in the modern world.
    Pankaj Mishra, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2013
  • The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, Seth P. Waxman, a solicitor general for the Clinton administration, initially refused, but eventually assented after further criticism from Judge Reyes.
    Chris Cameron, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Schumer also refused to return blue slips consenting to Trump’s nominations of Jay Clayton to be the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and Joseph Nocella Jr. to be U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
    Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 30 July 2025
  • Neither men operated the accounts or consented to be a part of them.
    Killian Baarlaer, Louisville Courier Journal, 25 July 2025
Verb
  • Trump’s initial response to the jobs report was to renew his attacks on the Federal Reserve, and its chair, Jerome Powell, for not acceding to his demands for a cut in interest rates.
    John Cassidy, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2025
  • Harvard alleges that Trump is retaliating against it in violation of its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment for refusing to accede to the administration's demands to control the school's governance, curriculum, and the ideology of its faculty and students.
    Nate Raymond, USA Today, 24 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Acquiesce.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acquiesce. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

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