accord
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a formal agreement between countries, organisations, or people.
n.a formal agreement or treaty between parties, often international or political in nature.
Simple“The two nations signed a peace accord to end the long border dispute.”
In context“The environmental accord established strict carbon emission targets for all participating member states over the next decade.”
Antonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
n.a state where people or things agree or work well together.
n.concurrence of opinion or action; a state of harmony between different elements.
Simple“The committee reached an accord after hours of difficult discussion.”
In context“The architectural design was in perfect accord with the natural landscape of the surrounding valley.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.doing something because you want to, not because someone forced you.
n.voluntary or spontaneous impulse to act; almost exclusively used in the phrase 'of one's own accord'.
Simple“The witness decided to come forward of her own accord to tell the truth.”
In context“He resigned of his own accord before the board had the opportunity to formally review his performance.”
UsageCommonly used in the prepositional phrase 'of one's own accord'.
Synonyms - 04 C1 Advanced
v.to give someone a particular kind of treatment, status, or respect.
v.to grant, concede, or bestow something upon someone, typically a status, right, or privilege.
Simple“The visiting president was accorded a very warm welcome by the local community.”
In context“The constitution accords certain fundamental rights to every citizen, regardless of their social or economic standing.”
UsageTransitive verb; often takes an indirect object (to accord someone something).
- 05 C1 Advanced
v.to be the same as or match something else.
v.to be consistent with or correspond to a particular fact or rule.
Simple“His version of the story does not accord with the evidence found by the police.”
In context“The results of the second experiment did not accord with the initial hypothesis proposed by the research team.”
UsageIntransitive verb; usually followed by the preposition 'with'.
Synonyms
Usage according to new · according to a report · according to a study
“An American missionary kidnapped in Niger last year has been released after more than nine months in captivity and is now in the care of United States officials, according to his organisation.”
“The UK has lost as much as 90% of its water vole population since the 1970s, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.”
From Middle English accord, from Old French acort, from acorder (see verb below).
From Middle English accorden, acorden, borrowed from Old French acorder (compare modern French accord and accorder), from Vulgar Latin accordāre, from Latin concordāre via prefix substitution (with Latin ad-), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱḗr ~ ḱr̥d-, and thus distantly related to English heart (via Proto-Germanic hertô).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.