Meaning & use
assent
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitiveformal
To say or show that you agree with an idea, request or plan.
Grammar: No direct object; usually followed by to: assent to the terms.
Patterns
- assent to something
- assent to doing something
The board assented to the new budget after a short discussion.
He nodded to assent when asked if he understood.
Neither side would assent to the other's conditions.
noununcountableformal
Formal agreement or approval given to a proposal, plan or request.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: give your assent, not an assent.
Patterns
- assent to something
- give assent
- with the assent of someone
The bill became law once it received royal assent.
She gave her assent with a quiet nod.
The plan went ahead with the assent of all the partners.
Word forms
| third person singular | assents |
|---|---|
| past tense | assented |
| past participle | assented |
| -ing form | assenting |
Common combinations
- royal assent
- The law cannot take effect without royal assent.
- give your assent
- The committee gave its assent to the proposal.
- nod in assent
- The students nodded in assent.
- assent to a request
- The manager assented to the request for extra leave.
- with one assent
- The crowd answered with one assent.
Synonyms and how they differ
- agree
- Agree is everyday and can mean sharing an opinion, while assent suggests formally accepting a proposal.
- consent
- Consent means giving permission for something to happen, whereas assent can be mere agreement with an idea.
- concur
- Concur stresses having the same opinion as someone else, often in a formal discussion.
- approval
- Approval is the noun-like equivalent for judging something good, and does not need an ask beforehand.
Opposites
Word family
- assentient adjective
- expressing agreement (rare)
- assenter noun
- a person who agrees
- dissent verb
- to disagree openly
Commonly confused: assent or ascent?
assent vs ascent
Ascent means climbing upward, and it sounds exactly like assent. Only context or spelling tells them apart.
Practice
The committee finally ______ to the revised schedule.
Choose one answer.
Assented to means agreed to. Dissented means the opposite, and ascended is a spelling-and-sound lookalike meaning climbed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “assent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.