Agreeing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Showing willingness or consent to a proposal or statement ; sharing the same opinion or sentiment with others
2. Giving approval or accepting an idea ; having compatible or matching views or emotions
3. Indicating acceptance or concurrence with a suggestion ; exhibiting agreement in beliefs or feelings

Etymology: "Agreeing" is the present participle of "agree," so its history is simply that of the verb it comes from, with the ending "-ing" attached. "Agree" arrived in English from Old French "agreer," meaning to accept or to please, which was built on "a-" (to) and "gre" (pleasure, will), ultimately tracing back to Latin "gratum," meaning "pleasing." The sense of "pleasing" survives in the older phrase "it doesn't agree with me," where food or weather can be said to suit or not suit a person. The -ing ending is the ordinary English suffix that turns a verb into a participle or a verbal noun, so "agreeing" carries the same basic sense as "agree" while also working as an adjective, as in "an agreeing voice." Because it is so transparent, the word has no separate story of its own beyond its parent verb.

Synonyms: conceding, acknowledging, assenting, consenting

Antonyms: disagreeing, dissenting, objecting, refusing