acquiesce

See also: acquiescé

English

WOTD – 9 January 2007

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

Borrowed from Middle French acquiescer, from Latin acquiescere; ad + quiescere (“to be quiet”), from quies (“rest”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌækwiˈɛs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

1. (intransitive, with in (or sometimes with, to)) 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.
   • 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 to acquiesce in principles and doctrines attempted to be maintained in all those answers, that of Virginia only excepted.

   • (Can we date this quote by Thomas De Quincey and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     They were compelled to acquiesce in a government which they did not regard as just.

   • Template:RQ:Bronte Wuthering

     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.

   • 1861 — Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address (4 March)

     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.

2. (intransitive) To concur upon conviction; as, to acquiesce in an opinion; to assent to; usually, to concur, not heartily but so far as to forbear opposition.
   • 1794 — Charlotte Smith, The Banished Man, vol II, ch 16

     I entirely acquiesce in 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 to acquiesce in these recent developments, but I can hardly be expected to make merry over them.

   • 2009, Dan Brown, chapter 70, in The Lost Symbol, →ISBN:

     Langdon could tell there would be no deterring her and so he acquiesced, turning his attention back to the pyramid.

   • 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^[1]:

     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).

Synonyms

• (rest satisfied):
• (concur upon conviction): accept tacitly, go along with; See also Thesaurus:acquiesce

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}}.

• agree
• assent
• comply
• concur
• consent
• submit
• yield

Translations

rest satisfied

• Bulgarian: съгласявам се мълчаливо (sǎglasjavam se mǎlčalivo)
• Danish: slå sig til tåls (followed by med)
• Finnish: myöntyä (fi), alistua (fi), tyytyä (fi)
• Hungarian: belenyugszik (hu), beletörődik
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: ngawhere
• Polish: przyzwalać (na coś)
• Portuguese: aquiescer (pt)
• Russian: соглаша́ться (ru) (soglašátʹsja)
• Spanish: conformarse (es)

concur upon conviction

• Bulgarian: приемам (bg) (priemam)
• Danish: finde sig (followed by i), indvillige (i)
• Finnish: myöntyä (fi), alistua (fi), suostua (fi)
• French: acquiescer (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: beleegyezik (hu), elfogad (hu)
• Interlingue:
• Maori: ngawhere
• Polish: godzić się (pl)
• Spanish: consentir (es)

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

Translations to be checked

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} rezignar (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

References

• “acquiesce”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

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French

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛs

Verb

acquiesce

1. first-person singular present indicative of acquiescer
2. third-person singular present indicative of acquiescer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of acquiescer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of acquiescer
5. second-person singular imperative of acquiescer

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Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) acquiēsce

1. second-person singular present active imperative of acquiēscō