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 reading was in line with a consensus of analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal, and falls further below its long-term average of 100.
"That division obviously undermines a regional solution... Without shared premises and minimum consensus, it’s obviously very difficult to respond at the regional level," said Jaramillo.
From Barron's
The consensus among economists polled by the Wall Street Journal is for a 73,000 increase.
From MarketWatch
Forward price/earnings ratios are current stock prices divided by consensus 12-month earnings-per-share estimates among analysts working for brokerage and research firms.
From MarketWatch
Here is how forward P/E ratios and rolling 12-month consensus EPS estimates have changed for the largest 20 “tech stocks” in the S&P 500 since Oct.
From MarketWatch
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.
