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consent

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word consent distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of consent are accede, acquiesce, agree, assent, and subscribe. While all these words mean "to concur with what has been proposed," consent involves the will or feelings and indicates compliance with what is requested or desired.

consented to their daughter's going

When could accede be used to replace consent?

In some situations, the words accede and consent are roughly equivalent. However, accede implies a yielding, often under pressure, of assent or consent.

officials acceded to the prisoners' demands

When would acquiesce be a good substitute for consent?

The words acquiesce and consent can be used in similar contexts, but acquiesce implies tacit acceptance or forbearance of opposition.

acquiesced to his boss's wishes

Where would agree be a reasonable alternative to consent?

While the synonyms agree and consent are close in meaning, agree sometimes implies previous difference of opinion or attempts at persuasion.

finally agreed to come along

When might assent be a better fit than consent?

The synonyms assent and consent are sometimes interchangeable, but assent implies an act involving the understanding or judgment and applies to propositions or opinions.

voters assented to the proposal

When can subscribe be used instead of consent?

The words subscribe and consent are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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 consent
Noun
Brown and Bongiovi aren’t even going to give up the kid’s name without her consent. Bethy Squires, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025 Kids aged 7 to 18 can also walk in for the shot without a prescription, as long as a parent or guardian gives consent and talks it over with the pharmacist. Evan Moore november 5, Charlotte Observer, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
Grok Imagine, the image and video generator from Elon Musk‘s xAI, has come under fire too as its users generate harmful deepfakes of celebrities who did not consent to have their faces replicated by the AI model. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025 The publication was also surrounded by controversy over whether the aged Lee, by then seriously disabled, had really consented to its publication. Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for consent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for consent
Noun
  • Used with the permission of the publisher, Simon & Schuster.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Revoke any unnecessary permissions immediately.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • China has built Russia’s defense industrial base, helped Iran provide Russia with one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, and assented as North Korea has sent troops to fight in Europe.
    Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 10 Apr. 2025
  • His representatives soon assented to de Moraes’s orders, including taking down the offending accounts and paying the fines.
    Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • However, attorneys representing businesses that sued the administration said using IEEPA in that way would require explicit authorization from Congress.
    Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The agency, which handles employment authorization renewals, said its current processing time is four months in 80% of cases.
    Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • In interviews with several analysts, bulls and bears agreed that CoreWeave’s fundamentals, as reflected in its filings, don’t currently add up.
    Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
  • This comes amid wider Russian attack on cities closer to Ukraine's front-line regions, signaling that Moscow has no intention of easing up its targeting of infrastructure or agreeing to any ceasefire.
    Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Consent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/consent. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on consent

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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