consensus

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cōnsēnsus (“agreement, accordance, unanimity”), from cōnsentiō (“feel together; agree”); see consent.

noun

1. A process of decision-making that seeks widespread agreement among group members.
2. General agreement among the members of a given group or community, each of which exercises some discretion in decision-making and follow-up action.
   reach consensus
   After years of debate over the best wine to serve at Thanksgiving, no real consensus has emerged.
3. (computing) An agreement on some data value that is needed during computation.
4. (attributive) Average projected value.
   a financial consensus forecast

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To seek consensus; to hold discussions with the aim of reaching mutual agreement.
   I think we are a strongly consensused society. There was a consensus during the 1950's, the Eisenhower years, in our society. Then in the 1960's came a period of division. 1975, United States Bureau of the Census, The Census Bureau, page 168
   None of this consensusing was done with the Manual. There were no national workshops, forums, etc. 1992, United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Subcommittee on Environment, The Science of Wetland Definition and Delineation: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Environment of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, First Session, November 12, 1991, page 185