acquiesce
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌækwiˈɛs/
rhymes: -ɛs
Forms: form: acquiesces
form: acquiescing
form: acquiesced
form: acquiesced
Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French acquiescer, from Latin acquiescō; ad + quiescō (“I rest”), from quies (“rest”).
Senses: examples: text: The representatives of the good people of this commonwealth in general assembly convened, having maturely considered the answers of sundry states in the Union, to their resolutions passed at the last session, respecting certain unconstitutional laws of Congress, commonly called the alien and sedition laws, would be faithless indeed to themselves, and to those they represent, were they silently to acquiesce in principles and doctrines attempted to be maintained in all those answers, that of Virginia only excepted.
ref: 1799, Thomas Jefferson, The Kentucky Resolution of 1799:
text: They were compelled to acquiesce in a government which they did not regard as just.
ref: 1846, Thomas De Quincey, “On Christianity, as an Organ of Political Movement”, in Tait's Magazine:
text: Cathy was a powerful ally at home; and between them they at length persuaded my master to acquiesce in their having a ride or a walk together about once a week, under my guardianship, and on the moors nearest the Grange: for June found him still declining.
ref: 1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], Wuthering Heights: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC:
text: If a minority, in such case, will secede rather than acquiesce, they make a precedent which, in turn, will divide and ruin them; for a minority of their own will secede from them whenever a majority refuses to be controlled by such minority.
ref: 1861 March 4, Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address:
text: "They" might be ruining the world, but Mitchell's characters, by doing nothing but bitching, are only acquiescing in that ruin, and that is a luxury that neither they — nor we — can afford.
ref: 1982 December 4, Rob Kaplan, “Life in the Last Days”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 20, page 12:
synonyms: resign
submit
yield
glosses: To rest satisfied, or apparently satisfied, or to rest without opposition and discontent (usually implying previous opposition or discontent); to accept or consent by silence or by omitting to object.
raw_tags: with in or to (or sometimes with)
examples: text: to acquiesce in an opinion
text: I entirely acquiesce in all the observations you make in your letter; they are worthy of your heart and understanding;
ref: 1794, Charlotte Smith, chapter 16, in The Banished Man, volume II:
text: I may be forced to acquiesce in these recent developments, but I can hardly be expected to make merry over them.
ref: 1891, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band:
text: Langdon could tell there would be no deterring her and so he acquiesced, turning his attention back to the pyramid.
ref: 2009, Dan Brown, chapter 70, in The Lost Symbol, →ISBN:
text: The episode also opens with an inspired bit of business for Homer, who blithely refuses to acquiesce to an elderly neighbor’s utterly reasonable request that he help make the process of selling her house easier by wearing pants when he gallivants about in front of windows, throw out his impressive collection of rotting Jack-O-Lanterns from previous Halloweens and take out his garbage, as it’s attracting wildlife (cue moose and Northern Exposure theme song).
ref: 2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club:
text: So I acquiesce, I say "alright, I'll work Ryback", and I go up to Ryan, "hey man, clean slate"
ref: 2014 November 26, CM Punk, “Episode 226: CM Punk” (1 hour 5 minutes 50 seconds from the start), in Art of Wrestling:
text: The job of His Majesty's Opposition - especially as election time looms - is to provide well-worked-out alternatives to government plans, not to acquiesce in what could prove to be a disastrous policy for rail passengers.
ref: 2023 March 8, Christian Wolmar, “Labour passes up the chance to deliver a forceful rail policy”, in RAIL, number 978, page 35:
glosses: To concur upon conviction; to accept tacitly; to assent to; usually, to concur, not heartily but so far as to forbear opposition.
Synonyms: word: abide by
word: accept
word: acquiesce
word: go along with
Hypernyms: word: assent
word: conform
word: tolerate
Coordinate terms: word: accede
Derived terms: acquiescingly
nonacquiescing
Related terms: acquiescence
acquiescent
acquiescer