Diplomatic Disagreement and Consensus
Open a theme, then select a word or phrase for its meaning, example and pronunciation.
1. Expressing reservations (20 entries)
- grounds for concern
- express unease
- apprehension
- misgiving
- a note of caution
- harbour doubts
- proviso
- with some reservations
- unreserved
- tactful
- reticent
- muted
- understated
- effusive
- palpable
- subdued
- pronounced
- pretentious
- how convenient
- enunciate
2. Acknowledging alternatives (20 entries)
- acknowledge the merits
- concede the possibility
- give due weight
- see the rationale
- appreciate the concern
- evasive
- forthright
- dismissive
- accommodating
- emphatic
- astute
- unobtrusive
- incidental
- muted praise
- change tack
- peripheral
- acknowledge discomfort
- scathing
- revisit the wording
- lukewarm
3. Disputing implications (20 entries)
- contest an interpretation
- by no means
- dispute a claim
- challenge a premise
- question an inference
- clarify the scope
- hold water
- call into question
- take issue with
- narrow a claim
- hold to account
- cast doubt on
- resist a characterisation
- subject to qualification
- beg to differ
- reasonable disagreement
- conceptual disagreement
- without conceding that
- acknowledge dissent
- let the matter drop
4. Concessions and common ground (20 entries)
- seek common ground
- give ground
- reconcile priorities
- agree in principle
- bridge differences
- accommodation
- reciprocity
- acknowledge a trade-off
- make allowances
- respectful
- assent
- an impasse
- consensus wording
- neutral ground
- albeit reluctantly
- by mutual consent
- appease
- with some justification
- call a truce
- interpret a concession
5. Negotiated conclusions (20 entries)
- negotiated outcome
- undertaking
- accord
- settlement
- assurance
- provisional agreement
- by prior arrangement
- qualified support
- leave room for manoeuvre
- diplomatic
- guarded
- noncommittal
- restrained
- adamant
- tacit acceptance
- align
- uncompromising
- unambiguous
- tenuous
- negotiated wording