consensus
Americannoun
plural
consensuses-
majority of opinion.
The consensus of the group was that they should meet twice a month.
-
general agreement or concord; harmony.
noun
Usage
Many say that the phrase consensus of opinion is redundant and hence should be avoided: The committee's statement represented a consensus of opinion. The expression is redundant, however, only if consensus is taken in the sense “majority of opinion” rather than in its equally valid and earlier sense “general agreement or concord.” Criticism of consensus of opinion has been so persistent and widespread that the phrase, even though in common use, occurs only infrequently in edited formal writing. The phrase general consensus is objected to for similar reasons. Consensus is now widely used attributively, especially in the phrase consensus politics.
Since consensus refers to a collective opinion, the words of opinion in the phrase consensus of opinion are redundant and should therefore be avoided
Etymology
Origin of consensus
First recorded in 1850–55; from Latin, from consentīre “to be in agreement, share a feeling,” from con- con- + sentīre “to feel” ( sense )
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.
The miner’s production target for 2026 was in line with the analyst’s forecast but below the consensus view, though that should be offset by the positive Island expansion study.
Profit beat consensus on a pre-provision basis thanks to its performance in Spain and Mexico, though the figures for Turkey and South America missed estimates.
“Investor enthusiasm for prospects on the immediate outlook may have cooled, but the market consensus of Shell as a cautious buy remains in place, with the group still preferred over major rival BP.”
That missed analysts’ expectations of 10.76 billion euros, according to a Visible Alpha consensus.
A consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal only expected a 0.1% decline.
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.
