acquiesce
verb
intransitive verb
Did you know?
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."
Synonyms
- accede
- agree
- assent
- come round
- consent
- subscribe
Example Sentences
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 Eli Stokolsstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2022 Management had to acquiesce to their demands or risk losing them to a competitor. Jack Kelly, Forbes, 19 July 2022 In Clark’s symbolic writing system, specific words and phrases acquiesce to the overpowering whole. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 8 July 2022 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 See More Word History
borrowed from French acquiescer, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin acquiēscere "to rest, find peace, be satisfied (with)," from ad- ad- + quiēscere "to repose, be quiet" — more at quiescent
1613, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
acquiesce
verb
Legal Definition
acquiesce
intransitive verb
acquiesce
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- agree
- assent
- accede
- consent
- submit
- succumb
- subscribe
- adopt
- come round
- tolerate
- abide
- embrace
- endure
- suffer
- stand
- espouse
- relent
- swallow
- bow
- yield
- stomach
- take
- bear (with)
- knuckle under
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- refuse
- reject
- dissent
- deny
- spurn
- rebuff
- scorn
- gainsay
Synonym Chooser
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.
The words accede and acquiesce can be used in similar contexts, but accede implies a yielding, often under pressure, of assent or consent.
Although the words agree and acquiesce have much in common, agree sometimes implies previous difference of opinion or attempts at persuasion.
The meanings of assent and acquiesce largely overlap; however, assent implies an act involving the understanding or judgment and applies to propositions or opinions.
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.
While in some cases nearly identical to acquiesce, subscribe implies not only consent or assent but hearty approval and active support.