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acquiesce
verb
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If you’re looking to give your speech a gentle, formal flair, don't give acquiesce the silent treatment. Essentially meaning "to comply quietly," acquiesce has as its ultimate source the Latin verb quiēscere, "to be quiet." (Quiet itself is also a close relation.) Quiēscere can also mean "to repose," "to fall asleep," or "to rest," and when acquiesce arrived in English via French in the early 1600s, it did so with two senses: the familiar "to agree or comply" and the now-obsolete "to rest satisfied." Herman Melville employed the former in Moby-Dick, when Ahab orders the "confounded" crew to change the Pequod's course after a storm damages the compasses: "Meanwhile, whatever were his own secret thoughts, Starbuck said nothing, but quietly he issued all requisite orders; while Stubb and Flask—who in some small degree seemed then to be sharing his feelings—likewise unmurmuringly acquiesced."
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.
consent involves the will or feelings and indicates compliance with what is requested or desired.
accede implies a yielding, often under pressure, of assent or consent.
acquiesce implies tacit acceptance or forbearance of opposition.
agree sometimes implies previous difference of opinion or attempts at persuasion.
subscribe implies not only consent or assent but hearty approval and active support.
Examples of acquiesce in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acquiesce.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Acquiesce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acquiesce. Accessed 22 Aug. 2024.
Kids Definition
acquiesce
verbLegal Definition
acquiesce
intransitive verbMore from Merriam-Webster on acquiesce
Nglish: Translation of acquiesce for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of acquiesce for Arabic Speakers
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