Assent

n. [O. Fr. assent, assens, Lat. assensus, from assentīre, assentīrī. See infra.] The act of assenting; the act of the mind in admitting or agreeing to any thing; consent; agreement.

It received the assent, if not the approbation, of the prince. Prescott.

Faith is the assent to any proposition, on the credit of the proposer. Locke.

Royal assent, in England, the assent of the sovereign to a bill which has passed both houses of parliament, given in the House of Lords, either in person or by commissioners. Eng. Cyc.

Synonyms—ASSENT, CONSENT. Assent is an act of the understanding, consent of the will or feelings. We assent to the views of others when our minds come to the same conclusion with theirs as to what is true, right, or admissible. We consent when there is such a concurrence of our will with their desires and wishes that we decide to comply with their requests. The king of England gives his assent, not his consent, to acts of parliament, because, in theory at least, he is not governed by personal feelings or choice, but by a deliberate judgment as to the common good. We also use assent in cases where a proposal is made which involves but little of interest or feeling. A lady may assent to a gentleman's opening the window; but if he offers himself in marriage, he must wait for her consent. There is an obsolete use of consent for union, which is not here brought into view.

*You said the same; and are you discontent With laws to which you gave your own assent?* Pope.

*When thou canst truly call these virtues thine, Be wise and free by Heaven's consent and mine.* Dryden.