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Definition agree in American English

agree verb

verb
/əˈɡri/

When you want to say that you approve of something or think it is the right thing to do, use the pattern “agree with something” (not “agree something”):

✗ Most Hong Kong women do not agree abortion.

✓ Most Hong Kong women do not agree with abortion.

✗ I do not agree this policy.

✓ I do not agree with this policy.

You can also use the pattern agree with doing something:

✗ As a non-smoker, I agree banning smoking in restaurants.

✓ As a non-smoker, I agree with banning smoking in restaurants.

Don’t use the pattern “agree to something” when you want to express this meaning:

✗ I agree to this opinion to some extent.

✓ I agree with this opinion to some extent.

✗ I agree to construct a second railway link to the mainland.

✓ I agree with constructing a second railway link to the mainland.

To agree to something or agree to do something means that you will do something that someone wants you to do:

Both sides agreed to some modifications in the proposals.

In the end I agreed to do the job.

Agree is not used with a direct object. Agree on/upon is used instead. In this use, it means “to decide something together” and it is mainly used when talking about official decision-making bodies and organizations.

Yesterday the management and unions agreed on a pay deal.

Leaders of Congress met to agree upon a strategy for tackling climate change.

The preposition ong>uponong> is used less frequently than on, and it sounds more formal.

Ways of expressing agreement

used when agreeing with someone

used for saying that you completely agree with someone

a more informal way of saying that you completely agree with someone

used when agreeing with a suggestion someone has made

used when you agree that someone is right, but you are not happy with the situation

Examples:

“It’s supposed to be a very good school.” “That’s right. The test scores are really high.” ♦ “He’s really boring, isn’t he?” “Oh, I know, he never stops talking about himself.”

“When we were young, people didn’t get into debt.” “Exactly. You just bought what you could afford.” ♦ “I think Jacob is the best person for the job.” “Absolutely. I’ll be amazed if he doesn’t get it.”

“It’s so cold outside!” “You can say that again!” ♦ “The buses are so unreliable!” “You’re telling me! I’ve been waiting here for half an hour.”

“Let’s go to the cinema tonight.” “Why not? We haven’t been for ages.”

“We’ll have to get some new tires.” “I suppose so/I guess so. But it will be expensive.”

disagree

1

to have the same opinion as someone else

Example

Doreen thought that the house was too small, and Jim agreed.

Example

I agree with my mother about most things.

Example

I entirely agree with the comments you made about public transportation.

Example

We all agree that we should celebrate this event.

Example

The committee members all agree on the need for more information.

Synonyms and related words
2

to say that you will do something that someone else wants or suggests

Example

I asked her to marry me, and she agreed.

Example

The school agreed to send the students on the field trip.

Example

We have agreed to their request for a full investigation.

Synonyms and related words
2.1

to decide together what will be done and how it will be done

Example

We need to agree on a date for our next meeting.

Synonyms and related words
3

if two pieces of information agree, they are the same or suggest the same thing

Example

The statements given by the two witnesses did not agree.

Example

The observations agree with the predictions we made earlier.

Synonyms and related words
Definition agree in American English