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consensus, consensus of opinion, general consensus

Note that the second syllable in the word consensus begins with an s and not a c.

Redundant expressions with consensus

Because a consensus is a shared opinion, it is redundant to write a consensus of opinion.

  • Management and staff struggled for hours to reach a consensus (not a consensus of opinion).

Also, because consensus refers to general agreement among members of a group, using general in front of consensus is like saying general general agreement. Therefore, the modifier general in the familiar expression general consensus is redundant.

  • There was a consensus (not general consensus) among seismologists that the earthquake measured 5.0 on the Richter scale.