Wiktionary

acquiesce

See also:acquiescé

English

edit
WOTD – 9 January 2007

Etymology

edit

Borrowed fromMiddle Frenchacquiescer,fromLatinacquiescō;ad+quiescō(“I rest”),fromquies(“rest”).

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key):/ˌækwiˈɛs/
  • Audio(US):(file)
  • Audio(US):(file)

Verb

edit

acquiesce(third-person singular simple presentacquiesces,present participleacquiescing,simple past and past participleacquiesced)

  1. (intransitive,within(or sometimeswith,to))To restsatisfied,orapparentlysatisfied, or to rest withoutoppositionanddiscontent(usually implying previous opposition or discontent); to accept or consent by silence or by omitting to object.
    • 1799,Thomas Jefferson,The Kentucky Resolution of 1799:
      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 toacquiescein principles and doctrines attempted to be maintained in all those answers, that of Virginia only excepted.
    • 1846,Thomas De Quincey,“On Christianity, as an Organ of Political Movement”, inTait's Magazine:
      They were compelled toacquiescein a government which they did not regard as just.
    • 1847December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym;Emily Brontë],Wuthering Heights:[…],volume(please specify |volume=I or II),London:Thomas Cautley Newby,[…],→OCLC:
      Cathy was a powerful ally at home; and between them they at length persuaded my master toacquiescein 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.
    • 1861March 4,Abraham Lincoln,First Inaugural Address:
      If a minority, in such case, will secede rather thanacquiesce,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.
    • 1982December 4, Rob Kaplan, “Life in the Last Days”, inGay Community News,volume10,number20,page12:
      "They" might be ruining the world, but Mitchell's characters, by doing nothing but bitching, are onlyacquiescingin that ruin, and that is a luxury that neither they — nor we — can afford.
  2. (intransitive)Toconcuruponconviction;toassentto; usually, to concur, notheartilybut so far as toforbearopposition.
    toacquiescein an opinion
    • 1794,Charlotte Smith,chapter 16, inThe Banished Man,volume II:
      I entirelyacquiescein all the observations you make in your letter; they are worthy of your heart and understanding;
    • 1891,Arthur Conan Doyle,The Adventure of the Speckled Band:
      I may be forced toacquiescein these recent developments, but I can hardly be expected to make merry over them.
    • 2009,Dan Brown,chapter 70, inThe Lost Symbol,→ISBN:
      Langdon could tell there would be no deterring her and so heacquiesced,turning his attention back to the pyramid.
    • 2012May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, inThe Onion AV Club‎[1]:
      The episode also opens with an inspired bit of business for Homer, who blithely refuses toacquiesceto 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).
    • 2014November 26, CM Punk, “Episode 226: CM Punk” (1 hour 5 minutes 50 seconds from the start), inArt of Wrestling‎[2]:
      So Iacquiesce,I say "alright, I'll work Ryback", and I go up to Ryan, "hey man, clean slate"
    • 2023March 8, Christian Wolmar, “Labour passes up the chance to deliver a forceful rail policy”, inRAIL,number978,page35:
      The job of His Majesty's Opposition - especially as election time looms - is to provide well-worked-out alternatives to government plans, not toacquiescein what could prove to be a disastrous policy for rail passengers.

Synonyms

edit

Derived terms

edit
edit
English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *kʷyeh₁-(0 c, 18 e)

Translations

edit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

edit

French

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Verb

edit

acquiesce

  1. inflection ofacquiescer:
    1. first/third-personsingularpresentindicative/subjunctive
    2. second-personsingularimperative

Latin

edit

Verb

edit

acquiēsce

  1. second-personsingularpresentactiveimperativeofacquiēscō
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=acquiesce&oldid=82449266"