concurrence
C1Formal, Academic, Technical, Legal
Definition
Meaning
The state of two or more things happening or existing at the same time.
Agreement or accordance in opinion; simultaneous occurrence; the act of concurring.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The word often implies a logical or causal relationship, not just random simultaneity. It can refer to events, opinions, or the operation of multiple factors.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant spelling difference. In legal contexts, 'concurrence' (a judge's opinion agreeing with the majority but for different reasons) is slightly more frequent in AmE, while in BrE 'concurring judgment/opinion' may be equally common.
Connotations
Equally formal and technical in both varieties.
Frequency
Low-frequency word in everyday speech in both varieties, but common in formal, academic, and legal registers.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
concurrence between X and Yconcurrence of X with Yconcurrence in (opinion/decision)concurrence on (an issue)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “by happy concurrence of circumstances (archaic/literary)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in formal reports or agreements: 'The project cannot proceed without the board's concurrence.'
Academic
Common in philosophy, history, and science: 'The study examined the concurrence of economic and social factors.'
Everyday
Rare in casual conversation. Might be used in formal writing: 'By a strange concurrence, we both arrived at the same idea.'
Technical
Legal: 'The judge wrote a separate concurrence.' Computing: 'Managing thread concurrence is critical.'
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The committee must concur before the policy is enacted.
- I'm afraid I cannot concur with that analysis.
American English
- The justices concurred in the judgment but not the reasoning.
- We concur that further action is needed.
adverb
British English
- The committee members nodded concurringly.
- He spoke concurringly with the chairman's view.
American English
- The report states, concurringly, that the risks are high.
- She nodded concurringly during the presentation.
adjective
British English
- The concurring opinions were published together.
- He sent a concurring vote by post.
American English
- The concurring justice wrote a separate opinion.
- We received concurring statements from several agencies.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- It was a lucky concurrence that we met at the station.
- There was general concurrence on the main points.
- The success of the plan depended on the concurrence of several unlikely events.
- He expressed his full concurrence with the proposed changes.
- The judge's lengthy concurrence elaborated on a point of constitutional principle.
- A tragic concurrence of errors led to the system failure.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'CONCURRENCE' as a 'CON-CURRENT' event – things running CONcurrently, happening at the same time, or people thinking CONcurrently (in agreement).
Conceptual Metaphor
AGREEMENT IS ALIGNMENT / SIMULTANEITY IS PARALLEL PATHS.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'concurrency' (совместимость, конкурентность) in computing. 'Concurrence' is often translated as 'совпадение' (coincidence) or 'согласие' (agreement), but lacks the direct computing sense of Russian 'конкурренция' (which is 'competition').
Common Mistakes
- Using 'concurrence' to mean 'competition' (that is 'competition' or 'rivalry'). Confusing spelling: 'concurence' (missing an 'r'). Using in overly casual contexts where 'agreement' or 'coincidence' would be more natural.
Practice
Quiz
In a legal context, a 'concurrence' is best described as:
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Concurrence' often implies a meaningful or logical simultaneous occurrence, sometimes with an element of agreement or causality. 'Coincidence' typically suggests a random or accidental happening of events at the same time.
No, it is a formal word. In everyday situations, people are more likely to use 'agreement', 'coincidence', or 'at the same time'.
No, the verb form is 'concur'. 'Concurrence' is the noun form.
The standard term is 'concurrency' (e.g., concurrency control). 'Concurrence' is rarely used in this technical field.
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