What does consentience mean?
Consentience is a rare formal noun meaning agreement, concord, or a state of being in accord. It is especially useful when the emphasis is not simply on individual permission but on harmony among people, groups, or positions. In a sentence, consentience can describe the shared agreement that makes a decision possible, as in “The consentience of the committee allowed the proposal to advance.” The word has an elevated, old-fashioned tone and is encountered much less often than agreement, accord, or consensus. Its spelling can cause confusion with conscience, which concerns moral judgment, and with consistency, which concerns steadiness or the absence of contradiction. Although modern speakers will usually prefer a more familiar synonym, consentience remains valuable for understanding older writing and for formal discussion of shared agreement. Its formation reflects the idea of feeling together: Latin consentire combined con-, meaning “with” or “together,” and sentire, meaning “to feel” or “to perceive,” and consentience developed as a noun denoting agreement.
nounAgreement, concord, or a state of being in accord, especially among people holding compatible views. The word is rare and formal.
- A state of agreement, concord, or mutual accord among people, groups, or positions.
"The consentience of the committee allowed the proposal to advance without further debate."
"The consentience of the delegates enabled the assembly to reach a decision."
"Despite their different backgrounds, the panel found a measure of consentience in the proposals."
The plural is grammatically regular but rarely encountered.
"The testimony revealed two sharply different consentiences within the organization."
Consentience hides an elevated meaning inside an unfamiliar word: not moral conscience, but shared agreement.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does consentience come from?
Consentience was formed from Latin consentire, meaning “to agree” or “to feel together.” The verb combines the Latin prefix con-, meaning “with” or “together,” with sentire, meaning “to feel” or “to perceive.” The English noun developed as an expression of mutual agreement or concord and is now chiefly encountered in formal, archaic, or specialized writing.
How consentience is actually used
This is a rare, formal, and somewhat old-fashioned word. Modern English usually prefers agreement, accord, consensus, or concurrence.
Easily confused with consentience
Consentience means agreement or concord, whereas conscience means a person's moral sense of what is right and wrong.
Consentience denotes mutual agreement, whereas consistency describes the absence of contradiction or variation.