general consensus
What most believe
General consensus is agreement among most or all members of a group.
Strictly speaking, the phrase is redundant—consensus already implies general agreement—but it's widely used for emphasis: The general consensus was that we should wait.
Some usage guides object, but the expression is standard in everyday speech and writing.
- agreementShared position between parties
- unanimousComplete agreement among all
- majorityOver half of total
- silent majorityPresumed moderate, publicly mute multitude
- opinionSubjective personal belief
public opinion · shared · collective · common ground · public · common · accepted · widespread · understanding · accord · harmony · prevailing · mainstream · conventional · conventional wisdom · received wisdom · wisdom · groupthink
- Redundanciestautology, pleonasm, redundancy, redundant phrase, added bonus
general consensusdisagreement
Absence of shared opinion
dissension · discord · dissent · polarization · controversy
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