acquiesce
Americanverb (used without object)
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acquiesces,
present (3rd person singular)
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acquiesced,
past participle, past
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acquiescing
present participle
verb
Usage
The use of to after acquiesce was formerly regarded as incorrect, but is now acceptable
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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acquiescencenoun
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acquiescentadjective
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nonacquiescingadjective
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acquiescentlyadverb
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acquiescinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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acquiescesimple
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acquiescessimple
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have acquiescedperfect
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has acquiescedperfect
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am acquiescingprogressive
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are acquiescingprogressive
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is acquiescingprogressive
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have been acquiescingperfect progressive
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has been acquiescingperfect progressive
Past
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acquiescedsimple
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had acquiescedperfect
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was acquiescingprogressive
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were acquiescingprogressive
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had been acquiescingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of acquiesce
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin acquiēscere “to find rest in, ” equivalent to ac- ac- + quiē- + -sc- inchoative suffix + -ere infinitive suffix
Explanation
To acquiesce is to agree to something or to give in. If your kid sister is refusing to hand over the television remote, you hope she acquiesces before your favorite show comes on. The verb acquiesce comes from the Latin word acquiescere, meaning “to rest.” If you “rest” or become passive in the face of something to which you object, you are giving tacit agreement. In other words, you acquiesce. If you want to go hiking with your family and your children are not interested, it will be a very tough day on the trail until they acquiesce.
Vocabulary lists containing acquiesce
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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The Declaration of Independence
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If she knows you are willing to acquiesce to such a significant demand, it will be unlikely to end there.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
Like others, he felt he had little choice but to acquiesce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
The social compact that endured since that trauma was that Iranians would acquiesce to hardship and restrictions in return for a strong state that protects them from foreign attack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026
"You will be the same person that will castigate us if we acquiesce to accepting Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria," he added.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025
To Ismene, shocking as it was, overwhelming her with anguish for the pitiful dead body and the lonely, homeless soul, it seemed, nevertheless, that nothing could be done except to acquiesce.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
He will hope the new leader acquiesces to his plea to be allowed to remain in the job until next May.
From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2026
Glenn acquiesces — a real adult supports someone in need, after all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025
When Haider acquiesces to his dad’s expectations — he finds a job, and his wife is forced out of hers — the entire home’s stability comes tumbling down.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2023
My son acquiesces to her to avoid arguments.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 15, 2022
While admitting the facts, the Nancy theorists claim that the subject knows the performance to be a farce; gets suggestions of the unreality of it from the experimenters, and so acquiesces.
From The Story of the Mind by James Mark Baldwin
Had you written to me before you acquiesced, I would have told you to pay it, but beware of this behavior going forward.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
He wanted to avoid the mistakes he thought prosecutors had made, chief among them, in his view: They were so eager to show Blake’s motive that they acquiesced to the harsh portrayal of the victim.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
The Motion Picture Association and the U.S. ambassador to Canada had pressed the country to change the policy, and the government acquiesced late Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
It felt like he had that level of power, and everyone essentially acquiesced and you had this sort of anticipatory obedience.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
Sergeant Maples acquiesced to the inevitable and did combat with the defendant that afternoon.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
You did not fall in line, and your brother was rewarded for acquiescing, even if he did have his own agenda.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Big banks have already been acquiescing to Musk’s unusual demands, including paying up front for Grok subscriptions, thus juicing SpaceX’s flagging A.I. revenue.
From Slate ● May 15, 2026
Google is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit and is alleged to “knowingly acquiescing in, failing to remedy, and materially assisting the unauthorized access” into Ritter’s accounts despite being provided notice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
And pushed back again when the team insisted and said where to do it, saying: "I'll tell you when we're going to swap" before eventually acquiescing.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2025
By acquiescing in an act that can cause such suffering to a living creature, who among us is not diminished as a human being?
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
