consensus

Pluralconsensuses, consensus

Formsconsensuses, consensusing, consensused

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   When everyone in a group agrees on something after talking it over.

   Like a group of friends all agreeing on the same pizza topping before they order.

   After hours of debate, the committee finally reached a consensus on the new budget.

   There was broad consensus among the scientists that the data supported the theory.

   Similaragreement, accord, unanimity, concord

   Oppositedisagreement, dissent, discord, division

   Note
2. 2
   noununcountable

   A way of making decisions where a group works to agree on something together.

   Like a family deciding where to go on vacation by talking until everyone is happy with the plan.

   The cooperative relies on consensus rather than voting to settle disputes.

   Reaching decisions by consensus can take longer but builds stronger commitment.

   Note
3. 3
   nounusually singularbefore a noun

   The average of what experts expect a number to be.

   Like guessing a friend's age by averaging everyone's guesses.

   The company's earnings beat the consensus by a wide margin.

   Analysts' consensus points to modest growth next quarter.

   Similarestimate, forecast, projection

   Note
4. 4
   noununcountable

   An agreement between computers on a single value they all need to share.

   Like several clocks all agreeing on the exact same time before anything can start.

   Distributed databases must reach consensus before committing a transaction.

   The protocol guarantees consensus even when some machines fail.

   Similaragreement

   Note
5. 5
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To talk things over as a group, trying to get everyone to agree.

   Our club likes to consensus before we spend any of the money.

   The new school rules were consensused by all the teachers at one long meeting.

   Similarconfer, consult

   Note

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