acquiesce

/ˌækwiˈɛs/

//ˌækwiˈɛs// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"acquiesce" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“acquiesce” is uncommon English (frequency #53,982 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,982
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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.

Corpus desk

Index EN-acquiesce · acquiesce · English

acquiesce · rank #53,982 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,982
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH acker

Nearest frequency peer: acker (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “acquiesce”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “acquiesce” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for acquiesce
PropertyValue
Headwordacquiesce
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌækwiˈɛs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#53,982
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “acquiesce” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).acquiescefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “acker” (#53,981), “acyl” (#53,983), “Adcock” (#53,984). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “acquiesce” is #53,982. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

acquiesce is uncommon English at frequency #53,982 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌækwiˈɛs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for acquiesce, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French acquiescer, from Latin acquiescō; ad + quiescō (“I rest”), from quies (“rest”). The correct English form is acquiesce, spelled A-C-Q-U-I-E-S-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    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.
  2. 2
    To concur upon conviction; to accept tacitly; to assent to; usually, to concur, not heartily but so far as to forbear opposition.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how acquiesce appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

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

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French acquiescer, from Latin acquiescō; ad + quiescō (“I rest”), from quies (“rest”).

Synonyms

abide byacceptacquiescego along withtake sitting down

Antonyms

approvebackembracesupportupholdwelcomeobjectprotest

This word in other languages

consentir(Español)acquiescer(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "acquiesce"?
"acquiesce" is spelled A-C-Q-U-I-E-S-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌækwiˈɛs/.
What does "acquiesce" mean?
As a verb, "acquiesce" means: 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.
How do you pronounce "acquiesce"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "acquiesce" is /ˌækwiˈɛs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "acquiesce"?
Borrowed from Middle French acquiescer, from Latin acquiescō; ad + quiescō (“I rest”), from quies (“rest”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "acquiesce", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Abrahamic#53,979abounding#53,978Aishwarya#53,993altimeter#53,997

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list