More words that are easy to confuse

Ascent/ assent

The noun ascent means to go up towards the top of a mountain or hill. It can also refer to the path to the top of anything, or just rising in the air. Ascent may also be used to refer to someone’s career advancements. The noun ascent is related to the verb ascend. This word derives from a Latin term meaning to climb up.

The noun assent means approval or agreement. There has been assent if acceptance or consent occurred to something. As a verb, assent means to express approval or agreement, usually in an official way. The word assent originates with a Latin term meaning to feel or think, so if someone assents to our suggestion, they feel or think the same way that we do.

To avoid confusing these two words, it might help to invent some short sentences using words that have similar spellings, to better associate them with one another in our minds. For example, these words that begin with the letters asc:

ascertain

ascetic

ascot

ascribe

The ascetic monk ascertained that it would rain before making his ascent of the mountain.

Similarly, by grouping words that start with the same letters that assent begins with, we may better remember where to classify the word. For instance,

association

assessment

assembly

associate

assess

assumption

assistance

asset

assistant

assault

assumed

assets

assurance

assure

assignment

assert

assign

assemble

assertion

assassination

assimilate

Samples sentences might be:

The association assented to the assembly of assistants.

The assets of assistants who assented were assumed to be under assault.

The assembly was assigned to assent to the assimilation.

Some usage examples:

• Visiting Cuba, Sanchez said that Madrid must be allowed to negotiate directly with London on Gibraltar and give its specific assent to any changes to its relationship to the European Union in a future agreement between Britain and Brussels.
• The fall of Singapore and that photo of capitulation shocked the British public and changed the view of people in the British colonies that Britain was not invincible, as they previously thought. Hence, calls for independence were everywhere after the war with silent assent from the former British colony, America. That was the beginning of the end of the British Empire and the rest is history.
• The government has come up with a Water Resources Management Master Plan which is still awaiting Parliamentary assent.
• The new policy is ready – it has been cleared by the cabinet. We are identifying 17 broad products including yoga, medical tourism, agri, rural tourism and the like. In addition we have got the governor’s assent for the Karnataka Tourism and Trade Facilitation Act.
• The cover girl with royal assent. When fashion model Phitsinee “Si” Tanwiboon learned for sure she’d be on the cover of Vogue Thailand’s debut issue, the first person she told was Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana.
• The Agong had met with Pakatan leaders on Thursday, before giving his assent to appointing Dr Mahathir as the country’s seventh prime minister.
• The three assenting members were Thawatchai Jittrapanun, Supinya Klangnarong and Peerapong Manakit, while Natee Sukonrat – chairman of the panel – and Taweesak Ngamsanga had opposed the idea because BEC-Multimedia and Bangkok Entertainment Company were not the same entity.
• But Spanish officials emerged from talks on Friday warning that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez might not attend if London does not put in writing a promise that no future accord on EU relations involving Gibraltar will be signed without Madrid’s specific assent.
• The restrictions on foreigners buying existing homes will take effect within two months of the law receiving formal assent from the governor-general.
• Informed Consent Resources: Assent Tips. When children are involved in research the Federal regulations require Investigators to have the child’s agreement to take part in the study. This is known as assent and means that the study has been explained to the child and the child is willing to take part.  This is separate from getting a parent or guardian’s permission for the child to participate.  Generally, IRBs require that the assent of a minor child be sought when the child is seven years of age or older, unless the child’s decision-making capacity is impaired. For children 7 to 11 years of age, the assent form should be simple enough for the child to understand what he/she is agreeing to do.
• Fraud at 8,848 metres: Are Everest ascents too easy to fake? Ascents of many of the world’s highest peaks are validated based largely on trust, a system that has until now worked within the close-knit community of high-altitude climbing.But as the numbers heading up Everest have boomed, many are questioning whether summits need to be validated more scientifically.
• The ascent of Pyra. Indie songwriter Peeralada Sukawat is defiant as the storm of life rages.
• Nitchaon plots ascent to top 10. Nitchaon Jindapon has set sights on reaching the top 10 in the world rankings next year. Nitchaon, seeded second, won the women’s singles title at the Bitburger Open in Germany on Sunday after beating top seed Zhang Beiwen of the US 21-17, 15-21, 21-19 in the final.
• Ascent for emancipation. Expedition of Nepali women to climb Mount Saipal bucks tradition and gender stereotypes.
• Ariya’s Ascent. Years of hard work pay off for golf sensation.
• Ascent by Wesley Robins and Jed Mercurio – review. An exiled Soviet war hero is first man on the moon in this beautifully drawn adventure.
• Czech climber sets new benchmark with ascent of ‘world’s hardest cliff’.
• Kieran Trippier’s ascent captures spirit of England’s winged wonders. The wing-back was let go by Manchester City as a youngster and had to take a step back before a giant leap forward, as have many in Gareth Southgate’s team.
• The El Capitan ascent was amazing because of climbing fanatics’ rules. Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson did something that would only be physically possible for a very few number of professional climbers.
• Tom Holland’s Spider-Man struggles on ascent to top of UK box office.
• A daredevil raccoon that became an online sensation when it spent almost 20 nail-biting hours scaling a 25-storey office tower in Minnesota has been safely rescued and released back into the wild after making it to the top of the building unscathed. The animal’s ascent on the outside of the UBS building in downtown St Paul city was watched across the world on social media on Tuesday, with updates on its progress posted regularly by the Minnesota Public Radio under the hashtag #MPRraccoon. Crowds also gathered at the scene to watch.
• Up, up and away: the Bristol balloon fiesta – in pictures. Europe’s largest hot-air balloon meeting returns for its 40th anniversary with over 130 inflatables taking to the skies. Main image: The mass ascent of the 2018 festival gets underway.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)