accede
Americanverb (used without object)
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to give consent, approval, or adherence; agree; assent; to accede to a request; to accede to the terms of a contract.
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to attain or assume an office, title, or dignity; succeed (usually followed byto ).
to accede to the throne.
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International Law. to become a party to an agreement, treaty, or the like, by way of accession.
verb
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to assent or give one's consent; agree
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to enter upon or attain (to an office, right, etc)
the prince acceded to the throne
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international law to become a party (to an agreement between nations, etc), as by signing a treaty
Synonym Usage
See agree.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of accede
1400–50; late Middle English: to approach, adapt to < Latin accēdere to approach, assent, equivalent to ac- ac- + cēdere to go; see cede
Explanation
If you accede, it means you agree with someone or give in to his or her wish. The word is often used in a political context — the Queen acceded to the Prince's demands for more territory, a larger army, and funnier jesters. Accede can also be used for everyday situations. If you accede to your mother's request that you come home before ten, it means you'll be missing that midnight movie with your friends. Accede comes from the Latin accedere, meaning to "approach or enter upon." It differs slightly from concede, which also means consent, but a more reluctant kind. If you were to concede to your mom's 10 PM curfew rather than accede to it, you'd be doing so against your will.
Vocabulary lists containing accede
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The businessman alleged that Cele also made other requests, including asking for help to purchase a home and pay for his son's studies, to which Matlala refused to accede.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
After months of negotiations hit a wall, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a statement Thursday night that “we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.”
From Slate ● Feb. 28, 2026
“We cannot in good conscience accede to their request,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
"These threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request," Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
Victoria Forester, however, was used to having her own way, and, if all else failed, or even if it did not, she would appeal to her father, and he would accede to her demands.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
After major newspapers acceded to Kaczynski’s demand that they publish his 35,000-word “manifesto” in 1995, the bombings stopped.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
The hospital acceded to most of this request, but did not provide the identities of its child patients and their families and their confidential medical files.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025
His fellow diplomats acceded, but that says nothing about what Golani does.
From Slate ● Dec. 9, 2024
Isaac Mwaura, spokesperson for the current Kenyan government, told the BBC that the authorities were "very co-operative with the protesters and acceded to the demands, including the president not assenting to the finance bill".
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2024
I reluctantly acceded; I yearned to spend my second night of freedom under my own roof.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
In response, Samsung's management said the talks failed because "acceding to the labour union's excessive demands would risk undermining the fundamental principles of the company's management".
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
The apartheid government under President F.W. de Klerk dismantled its nuclear weapons and associated facilities in an orderly process—before acceding to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
Despite not acceding to the family’s request for life sentences, they said they were happy with the outcome and that justice had been served.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2024
In 2018, she pledged that 2022 would be her last year as House Democratic leader, acceding to a term limit to quell an uprising and secure a second stint as speaker.
From New York Times ● Aug. 13, 2022
All of the sisters played chess with him, but acceding to his preference, they played Fischer Random.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
