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consent

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "consent", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "consent" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "consent" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

consent is aEnglishverb. It means: To express willingness, to give permission. Pronounced /kənˈsɛnt/. It ranks #3,869 in English word frequency. Often confused with covent and corset.

Key facts for consent
PropertyValue
Headwordconsent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kənˈsɛnt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,869
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of consent in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for consent is 7 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kənˈsɛnt/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,869 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 11 documented wrong-spelling variants for consent, with forms such as "cconsent", "cnosent", and "conesnt". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "covent", "corset", "content", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded in Middle English since circa 1225, borrowed from Old French consentir, from Latin cōnsentīre (“to agree; to assent, consent”), itself from com- (“with”) + sentiō (“to feel”) Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is consent, spelled C-O-N-S-E-N-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To express willingness, to give permission.
  2. 2
    To cause to sign a consent form.
  3. 3
    To grant; to allow; to assent to.
  4. 4
    To agree in opinion or sentiment; to be of the same mind; to accord; to concur.

Etymology

Recorded in Middle English since circa 1225, borrowed from Old French consentir, from Latin cōnsentīre (“to agree; to assent, consent”), itself from com- (“with”) + sentiō (“to feel”)

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cconsent,cnosent,conesnt,connsent,consennt,consentt,consetn,consnet,conssent,cosnent,ocnsent

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for consent

Misspelling Variants of "consent"

cconsent8cnosent7conesnt7connsent8consennt8consentt8consetn7consnet7
Misspelling Variants of "consent"

Frequency rank: #3,869 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "consent"?
"consent" is spelled C-O-N-S-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈsɛnt/.
What does "consent" mean?
As a verb, "consent" means: To express willingness, to give permission.
What words are commonly confused with "consent"?
"consent" is commonly confused with "covent", "corset", "content". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "consent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "consent" is /kənˈsɛnt/. 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 "consent"?
Recorded in Middle English since circa 1225, borrowed from Old French consentir, from Latin cōnsentīre (“to agree; to assent, consent”), itself from com- (“with”) + sentiō (“to feel”) 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.