consent
Americanverb (used without object)
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consents,
present (3rd person singular)
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consented,
past participle, past
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consenting
present participle
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to permit, approve, or agree; comply or yield (often followed by to or an infinitive).
He consented to the proposal. We asked her permission, and she consented.
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Archaic. to agree in sentiment, opinion, etc.; be in harmony.
noun
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consents
plural
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permission, approval, or agreement; sanction; acquiescence.
He gave his consent to the marriage.
- Synonyms:
- concurrence, accord
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agreement in sentiment, opinion, a course of action, etc..
By common consent he was appointed official delegate.
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Archaic. accord; concord; harmony.
verb
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to give assent or permission (to do something); agree; accede
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obsolete (intr) to be in accord; agree in opinion, feelings, etc
noun
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acquiescence to or acceptance of something done or planned by another; permission
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accordance or harmony in opinion; agreement (esp in the phrase with one consent )
-
the lowest age at which the law recognizes the right of a person to consent to sexual intercourse
Synonym Usage
See agree.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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consenternoun
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nonconsentnoun
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preconsentnoun
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reconsentverb (used without object)
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consentingadjective
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nonconsentingadjective
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unconsentingadjective
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consentinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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consentsimple
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consentssimple
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have consentedperfect
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has consentedperfect
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am consentingprogressive
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are consentingprogressive
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is consentingprogressive
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have been consentingperfect progressive
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has been consentingperfect progressive
Past
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consentedsimple
-
had consentedperfect
-
was consentingprogressive
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were consentingprogressive
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had been consentingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of consent
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English verb consenten, concenten, from Anglo-French, Old French consentir, from Latin consentīre “to join or share a feeling; concur”; noun derivative of the verb; see consensus
Explanation
Before you have surgery, you'd better give your consent, because the surgeon can't get his scalpel anywhere near your skin without first getting this permission from you. Consent is permission that can be given or taken away. On the night of the school dance, your parents might consent to extend your curfew by an hour. A homeowner who won't give a developer consent to tear down her house and build a shopping mall might finally consent after receiving a very large check from the developer.
Vocabulary lists containing consent
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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The Bill of Rights
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Common Senses: Sent, Sens ("Feel")
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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:
A legal challenge was brought at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in 2024 which argued that consent was given without fully considering the impact of burning the fossil fuels which will be produced.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Some states in recent years have passed laws seeking to address problematic youth use of social media, including banning smartphone in schools and requiring parental consent for minors to create accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
A person’s information can’t be released or shared without their consent, subject to limited exceptions.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
"Opting people in by default is not consent," a user said in one of the tamer responses to Twitch's announcement on X.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Students were allowed to do homework in the library until lights-out, but O-Hall kids had to have a teacher’s consent.
From "Winger" by Andrew Smith
These consents, after all, are legal agreements that terminate a biological parent’s legal claim to a child and vest those rights in non-biological parents.
From Slate ● May 13, 2026
The transaction is expected to close in mid-2026, subject to conditions, including regulatory approvals, client consents and the support of Janus Henderson’s shareholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
And he can remain on our soil only when the sovereign — in the U.S., that’s “We the People” — consents to it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2025
Sir John Thompson cited it as one example of 8,276 "consents" required from public bodies, and expressed frustration at the UK’s regulations.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2024
He fumbles with the lighter before it consents to spark.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
The court also acquitted them of abusing Graven's psychological frailty, as he had told police prior to his death that he had consented to the stunts, Hamadi's lawyer told Reuters.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Although 88 agents consented to the forensic imaging of their personal phones, Robbins said none of those had been imaged at the time of the hearing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
They wrote For the People who consented to be governed by it, which includes you.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
That arrangement quietly splits the person who is being watched from the person who consented to the watching.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
He took her up to Olympus, where the gods consented to receive her as one of themselves, a mortal, indeed, but the mother of a god and therefore fit to dwell with immortals.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
In a secure and mutually consenting relationship, of course.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
“If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here,” the U.S. senator said during a congressional hearing.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2026
"Women are not consenting to this," she said.
From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2026
But there are things you need to consider before consenting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025
No coward’s eye should light by my consenting!
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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.
