assent
/əˈsɛnt
/noun [mass noun]
1The expression of approval or agreement: a loud murmur of assent he nodded assent...
- Both ambassadors nodded assent, as did the Council President as he looked around the room.
- Imagine your private thrill when everyone in the congregation nodded assent.
- I nodded assent, and promptly closed my eyes and began to daydream.
1.1Official agreement or sanction: the act was given the Royal Assent...
- He has power to veto bills by withholding his assent.
- If the president withholds his assent, the bill will be killed.
- In such cases, it has the power either to assent or to withhold assent.
Synonyms
agreement, acceptance, approval, approbation, consent, acquiescence, compliance, concurrence;
blessing, imprimatur, seal/stamp of approval, rubber stamp;
sanction, endorsement, ratification, authorization, mandate, licence, validation;
confirmation, support, backing;
permission, leave
informal the go-ahead, the green light, the OK, the thumbs up, the nod, say-so
verb [no object] (often assent to)
Express approval or agreement: the Prime Minister assented to the change [with direct speech]: ‘Guest house, then,’ Frank assented cheerfully...
- The others nodded in mute agreement, assenting to the terms set down by the car's owner.
- We then asked all children of consenting parents to assent to study participation.
- By convention, the monarch will not refuse her assent to a Bill passed by Parliament and she will act on the advice of her ministers.
Synonyms
agree to, accept, approve, consent to, acquiesce in, concur in, accede to, give one's blessing to, bless, give one's seal/stamp of approval to, rubber-stamp, say yes to;
ratify, sanction, endorse, authorize, mandate, license, warrant, validate, pass;
confirm, support, back;
give one's permission/leave
informal give the go-ahead to, give the green light to, give the OK to, OK, give the thumbs up to, give the nod, say the word, buy
Derivatives
assenter
- With just 75 minutes to go before the deadline for handing in completed nominations, the returning officer told us we needed to get the signatures of 30 assentors.
- I now have to go through the process of getting thirty assentors in the Westport area, fifteen for the town council and fifteen different people for the county council.
- Despite complaints from Independents about the difficulty in securing assentors, the field has the largest number of Independents for decades.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French as(s)enter (verb), as(s)ente (noun), based on Latin assentire, from ad- 'towards' + sentire 'feel, think'.