Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

consent

[kuh n-sent]
See more synonyms for consent on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
  1. 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.
  2. Archaic. to agree in sentiment, opinion, etc.; be in harmony.
Show More
noun
  1. permission, approval, or agreement; compliance; acquiescence: He gave his consent to the marriage.
  2. agreement in sentiment, opinion, a course of action, etc.: By common consent he was appointed official delegate.
  3. Archaic. accord; concord; harmony.
Show More

Origin of consent

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English consenten < Anglo-French, Old French consentir < Latin consentīre (see consensus); (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French, noun derivative of the v.
Related formscon·sent·er, nouncon·sent·ing·ly, adverbnon·con·sent, nounnon·con·sent·ing, adjective, nounpre·con·sent, noun, verb (used without object)re·con·sent, verb (used without object)un·con·sent·ing, adjective
Can be confusedascent assent consent

Synonym study

1. See agree.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

subscribe, comply, acquiesce, accede, okay, permit, assent, accept, bless, fold, concede, let, yield, allow, sanction, concur, yes, approve

Examples from the Web for consenting

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • She paused, with a look of expectation, as if she waited for my consenting answer.

    Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • I dare say his modesty would prevent his consenting to the plan.

    Homeward Bound

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • He therefore ended by consenting to act as guide to the two comrades.

    The Downfall

    Emile Zola

  • "I told her of your consenting to help Mr. Taylor in his dilemma," said Mother.

    The Rise of Roscoe Paine

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • And no sooner had Balbi written, consenting, than Casanova explained what was to do.

British Dictionary definitions for consenting

consent

verb
  1. to give assent or permission (to do something); agree; accede
  2. (intr) obsolete to be in accord; agree in opinion, feelings, etc
Show More
noun
  1. acquiescence to or acceptance of something done or planned by another; permission
  2. accordance or harmony in opinion; agreement (esp in the phrase with one consent)
  3. age of consent the lowest age at which the law recognizes the right of a person to consent to sexual intercourse
Show More
Derived Formsconsenter, nounconsenting, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French consentir, from Latin consentīre to feel together, agree, from sentīre to feel
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for consenting

consent

v.

early 13c., from Old French consentir (12c.) "agree, comply," from Latin consentire "feel together," from com- "with" (see com-) + sentire "to feel" (see sense (n.)). "Feeling together," hence, "agreeing, giving permission," apparently a sense evolution that took place in French before the word reached English. Related: Consented; consenting.

Show More

consent

n.

c.1300, "approval," also "agreement in sentiment, harmony," from Old French consente, from consentir (see consent (v.)). Age of consent is attested from 1809.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper