Assent
What it means
Agreement with or approval of a statement or proposal.
Reach for it when naming a deliberate yes without implying enthusiasm
Every member gave assent to the revised safety standard.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| professional | |
| formal |
|
| literary |
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everyday
agreement
Fits when shared acceptance of an idea is the broad point
Careful Agreement can describe matching facts without anyone giving approval.
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professional
approval
Fits when a person or authority judges a proposal favorably
Careful Approval can praise quality without accepting the proposal's terms.
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professional
Fits when a person freely authorizes something affecting them
Careful Consent concerns permission and must not be inferred from passive assent.
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professional
endorsement
Fits when public backing should be explicit
Careful Endorsement is more active and promotional than simply agreeing.
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formal
concurrence
Fits when independent judgments arrive at the same conclusion
Careful Concurrence is legalistic and may mean simultaneous occurrence.
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literary
acquiescence
Fits when reluctant acceptance after resistance is accurate
Careful Acquiescence carries resignation, so it miscasts willing assent.
Opposites 3
- dissent
- refusal
- objection
Common phrases 3
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give assent
All four partners must give assent before the lease changes.
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formal assent
The assembly recorded its formal assent after the final reading.
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assent to the proposal
Residents gave assent to the proposal after the access route was clarified.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Luciferwildcat, Northern California accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated