The Meaning of Concur: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the definition of concur? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word concur, including its definition, usage, word origin, and more!

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What does the word concur mean?

According to Collins English Dictionary and the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word concur is a reciprocal verb meaning to agree, approve or assent. In American English, concur can also be used to mean to happen at the same time or coincide with. The past tense is concurred and the present progressive is concurring. Concur is two syllables – con-cur, and the pronunciation of concur is kənkɜr. 

There are many different languages that also contain words meaning concur. You may notice that many of these words look similar to concur, and are pronounced similarly as well. These are called cognates, which are words that preserve their meaning and general spelling across languages. These are often formed when two words or languages have the same root or language of origin such as Latin or Greek. This list of translations of concur is provided by Word Sense

  •  Belarusian: згаджа́цца‎ (impf), згадзі́цца‎ (pf)
  •  Interlingua: concordar‎
  •  Italian: essere d’accordo‎, concordare‎
  •  Basque: ados egon‎, ados izan‎, bat etorri‎
  •  Cantonese: 同意‎ (tung4 ji3)
  •  Malay: setuju‎, bersetuju‎
  •  Vietnamese: đồng ý‎ (同意‎)
  •  Novial: konkorda‎
  •  Arabic: وَافَقَ‎, imperfect: يُوَافِقُ‎
  •  Scottish Gaelic: co-aontaich‎
  •  German: zustimmen‎, einverstanden sein‎
  •  Portuguese: concordar‎, estar de acordo‎
  •  Hebrew: הִסְכִּים‎ (hiskím)
  •  Finnish: olla‎ yhtä mieltä‎, olla yksimielinen‎
  •  Thai: ตกลง‎ (dtòk long)
  •  Ukrainian: пого́джуватися‎ (impf), пого́дитися‎ (pf), зго́джуватися‎ (impf), зго́дитися‎ (pf)
  •  Russian: соглаша́ться‎ (impf), согласи́ться‎ (pf), приходи́ть к согла́сию‎, достига́ть соглаше́ния‎
  •  Serbo-Croatian: сагласити‎, saglasiti‎
  •  Rusyn: соглаша́тися‎ (impf), согласи́тися‎ (pf), годи́тися‎ (impf), погоди́тися‎
  •  Mandarin: 同意‎ (tóngyì)
  •  Armenian: համաձայնել‎, համաձայնվել‎
  •  Georgian: შეთანხმება‎, დათანხმება‎
  •  Lojban: tugni‎
  •  Danish: være enig‎
  •  Burmese: သဘောတူ‎
  •  Ancient Greek: ὁμολογέω‎, ὁμονοέω‎, συγγιγνώσκω‎, συμφέρω‎, ἐπαινέω‎, ὁμογνωμονέω‎
  •  Macedonian: се согласува‎ (impf), се согласи‎ (pf)
  •  Turkish: katılmak‎
  •  French: être d’accord‎, consentir‎
  •  Yiddish: שטימען‎, מסכּים זײַן‎ (maskem zayn)
  •  Bulgarian: съответствам‎, хармонирам‎, съгласявам‎
  •  Czech: shodovat‎ se, souhlasit‎ (impf)
  •  Hungarian: egyetért‎
  •  Polish: zgadzać się‎ (impf), zgodzić się‎ (pf)
  •  Korean: 同意‎
  •  Esperanto: samopinii‎
  •  Greek: συμφωνώ‎
  •  Swedish: hålla med‎, vara överens om‎
  •  Japanese: 同意‎, 同じる‎ (dōjiru), 一致‎, 賛成‎
  •  Spanish: estar de acuerdo‎, coincidir‎
  •  Latin: convenio‎, concordo‎, concino‎, audio‎
  •  Quechua: allipunakuy‎, añikuy‎
  •  Irish: aontaigh‎
  •  Slovak: zhodovať‎, súhlasiť‎ (impf)
  •  Persian: موافق بودن‎ (movâfeq budan)

What is the origin of the word concur?

According to Etymonline, the word concur (kənˈkɜr) has been used since the early c15 as the Late Middle English concurren to mean a clash in hostility. This comes from the Latin concurrere, meaning to run together or clash. This had a transferred use meaning to happen at the same time. This comes from the assimilated form of com, meaning together, and the root currere meaning to run. This comes from the Proto-Indo-European roots kers. This has been used to mean to coincide or happen at the same time since the 1590s, similar to concurrent or concurring, and has been used to mean to agree in opinion since the 1580s.

What are synonyms and antonyms of concur?

There are many different words that one can use in place of the word concur (kənˈkɜːr). These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same meaning as another word or phrase. Synonyms are a useful tool to know in the English language because they can help people to avoid repeating themselves while simultaneously growing their vocabulary. This list of synonyms for the word concur is provided by Thesaurus

  •  band
  •  approve
  •  come together
  •  consent
  •  league
  •  join
  •  cut a deal
  •  coadjute
  •  meet
  •  okay
  •  pass on
  •  combine
  •  jibe
  •  collaborate
  •  be consonant with
  •  accord
  •  accede
  •  agree
  •  equal
  •  shake on
  •  harmonize
  •  assent
  •  be in harmony
  •  acquiesce
  •  unite
  •  cooperate
  •  coincide

The word concur also has a number of antonyms, or opposite words. These words have the opposite definition as the word concur. Learning antonyms is another quick and easy way to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of antonyms of concur is also provided by Thesaurus

  •  set to
  •  fall out
  •  debate
  •  fight
  •  palter
  •  quarrel
  •  object
  •  war
  •  take issue
  •  oppose
  •  let have it
  •  controversialize
  •  dissent
  •  row
  •  bicker
  •  altercate
  •  bring action
  •  disaccord
  •  dispute
  •  divide
  •  take on
  •  discept
  •  lay into
  •  sue
  •  have words
  •  break with
  •  feud
  •  scrap
  •  contest
  •  wrangle
  •  argue
  •  spat
  •  differ
  •  controvert
  •  spar
  •  haggle
  •  battle
  •  jump on
  •  brawl
  •  contend
  •  discord
  •  go for the jugular
  •  zap
  •  logomachize
  •  skirmish
  •  rip
  •  clash
  •  disagree
  •  quibble

How can the word concur be used in a sentence?

The word concur can be used in many different sentences in the English language. Below are numerous examples of concur.

Her birthday happened to concur with graduation. She was happy since she could be celebrated by members of both parties in the same vicinity at the river sandbar. 

Mens rea and actus reus had to concur at the same time.

All of the colleagues concurred – the common opinion was that while the boss said he was out on business travel, the majority opinion was that the likely explanation was that he was cheating on his wife. Searchers looked through his office to find eyewitness accounts of bodies he had taken photos of – scandalous ones.

During the meeting of the leaders, they concurred on the terms of the settlement. They would settle their expenses with a third party present that neither competitor could have the upper hand. They agreed to deliberation should there be a legal dispute, and that the claimants would not speak to the same witness on consecutive days.

Franklin Eccles the investigator’s suggestion to the police was concurrent with the findings as well as the local feeling. Fulton, the sheriff’s officer, looked into the forceful wind and icy sleet the defendant claimed had caused the accident, but no such weather was reported. Justice Barrett sent the man away for a long time.

Overall, the word concur means a harmony of opinion. This refers to people who are in agreement or harmony, and are assenting. This word can also mean to happen at the same time. This verb can be used in any tense including the present participle and past participle.

Sources:

  1. concur: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  2. concur | Origin and meaning of concur | Online Etymology Dictionary 
  3. DISAGREE Synonyms: 119 Synonyms & Antonyms for DISAGREE | Thesaurus 
  4. Concur definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary