consensual
Americanadjective
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formed or existing by consent.
a consensual lien.
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having been actively agreed to by all parties involved.
consensual touching
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Physiology. (of an action) involuntarily correlative with a voluntary action, as the contraction of the iris when the eye is opened.
adjective
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law (of a contract, agreement, etc) existing by consent
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law (of a sexual activity) performed with the consent of all parties involved
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(of certain reflex actions of a part of the body) responding to stimulation of another part
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of consensual
First recorded in 1745–55; from Latin consēnsu-, stem of consēnsus consensus + -al 1
Explanation
If something is consensual, all parties are in agreement that they approve of it. You and your neighbor could have a consensual agreement to share the cost of putting up a fence between your houses. Consensual is related to the English words consensus and consent. They all go back to the Latin verb consentire, meaning "to agree" or literally, "to feel together," from the combination of sentire and com. In modern English, consensual is often used when discussing sex, particularly whether the act was consensual, agreed on by both people, or non-consensual, if one person was unwilling or too young to legally give consent.
Vocabulary lists containing consensual
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.
He refused to step down while denying the allegations, saying the encounters with both women were consensual, and called for prosecutors to open investigations into the claims.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Men, compared with women, however, and people who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual were more likely to have previously engaged in consensual nonmonogamy, according to the study.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
“But no one really looked at consensual relationships.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 28, 2026
All too often, men like this get away with these attitudes because they convince enough people that, while it may be gross, it’s ultimately just decadent, consensual behavior that harms no one else.
From Salon • Sep. 12, 2025
Accordingly, Bostick was not really “seized” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, and the subsequent search was purely consensual.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
