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Glite Dictionary
🤝 To agree together 💻 To agree in computing
to reach a consensus

to reach a consensus

5 3.5
A group of people agree about something after discussion
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : alcanzar un consenso
  • Historians have reached a consensus that black citizens suffered a loss of legal rights during the Jim Crow era.
  • difficulty in reaching a consensus
  • community needs to reach a consensus
  • need to reach a consensus

It's and, and reaching a consensus is very tough, but I think that's the way to go.

Examples

  • History has taught us that Japan will act quickly and decisively once its people reach a consensus.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Whether you can ever reach a consensus in the North American setting with something like that is another matter.

    Academic text (1997)

  • For a number of reasons, Congress had been unable to reach a consensus on the best approach to take.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Some states might say they are unable to reach a consensus and do not vote at all.

    Blog text (29)

  • Before making important decisions, service chiefs attempt to reach a consensus.

    Academic text (2003)

  • I'd prefer we reach a consensus everyone can live with.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The second challenge facing Kefaya is to reach a consensus over a clearly articulated, realistic vision for the movement's future.

    Academic text (2007)

  • A third party listens to both arguments and assists the disputants in reaching a consensus.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Therefore, it is advisable to continue studying behavioral addictions in order to reach a consensus among clinicians and researchers.

    Academic text (2018)

  • After hours of discussion, the committee was finally able to reach a consensus on the new policies.

Synonyms

to agree
vsto reach a consensus
∞ 1.0

Have the same opinion or say yes

implies collective approval by a group rather than individual consent
to concur
vsto reach a consensus
47 6.4

To agree with someone about something

involves agreement across many people rather than matching one opinion
to reach an agreement
vsto reach a consensus
35 3.0

Decide together after talking about the terms

is about broad group support rather than detailed negotiated terms
to come to a conclusion
vsto reach a consensus
13 3.0

To make a final decision after thinking

focuses on wide group agreement rather than a single final judgment
to settle upon
vsto reach a consensus
1 3.9

To pick one thing after thinking about the choices

is about gaining wide group backing rather than picking one option

Antonyms

disagreement
268 1.6

A situation when people do not have the same opinion

division
138 4.2

A strong disagreement that separates people in a group

How Agreed

to unite
∞ 2.1
to reach a consensus
5 3.5
to compromise
215 3.7
to disagree
∞ 1.0
to oppose
∞ 2.9

Surface Forms

reach a consensus infinitive
reached a consensus past
reached a consensus past participle
reaching a consensus present participle
reaches a consensus third person singular

Morphology

reach + a + consensus

The meaning 'to come to or attain a shared decision' is directly and compositionally derived from 'reach' (attain) + 'consensus' (shared decision); the article 'a' is semantically light. This motion/attainment + group-decision pattern is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'llegar a un consenso'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand the expression.

Etymology

Reach a consensus paints a picture of people around a table stretching out to touch the same point: they reach the same idea, and consensus means 'agreement'. That's why reach a consensus means to come to a general 'agreement'.