Accede, Concede, and Exceed – Here are the Differences in Meaning [+ Usage in a Sentence]

Accede:  to agree to a request or to give consent

Concede: to admit or relinquish hesitantly  

Exceed: to go beyond a limit; to be greater than

The root word cede that we see in all of the above words (with different spelling in exceed) means “go,” which also appears in words such as precede and recede. The meanings of these words can easily be figured out by combing “go” with their prefixes.

The prefix ac  means “to;” in fact, it is the same prefix as the ad in adjure and adhere, but its ending consonant has turned into a “c” simply in order to blend the sound more easily with the “c” at the beginning of cede. It also appears this way in other words, such accept. So, accede in Latin means “go to,” but only in reference to ideas, suggestions, commands, claims, and other propositions or statements.

To accede to an idea or suggestion means to “go to” agreeing with the idea:

She finally acceded to his many requests for a date.

Note that accede refers to the process of moving from non-agreement, or neutrality, to agreement; it sounds awkward to use it without this implication:

Correct: I acceded to his claims without going to court.

Incorrect: My best friend and I always accede with each other.

Accede is also a fairly formal verb, as implied in the example above. It sounds very funny to use it in reference to casual choices such as food and entertainment.

Concede is used much more commonly than accede. It also means to move from non-agreement to agreement, but it implies reluctance. Where accede can be wholly positive, concede always implies that you are giving something up:

I did not like the film, but I concede that it was well-made.

Along with this implication of “giving something up,” concede can be used in more concrete ways as well, not only for ideas—in fact, this is where the word concession comes from, as a concession is something that you give to someone:

After losing the election, the previous president did not want to concede power.

Germany was forced to make many concessions to the Allies after the war.

Finally, we finish, appropriately with the word exceed, which means “to go beyond limits.” The prefix ex- means “out of” or “beyond,” such as in words like excel, extract, and exempt. Exceed can be used for all kinds of things, both concrete and abstract:
Your performance exceeds our expectations.

Nothing can exceed the speed of light.

Also, note that sometimes exceed, like fulsome, can imply “too much” in a negative way:

That film exceeded the limits of good taste; it was disgusting.

And we have now exceeded our purpose in this article, having not only defined and explained, but contrasted and exemplified these fine English words! 

More Examples of "Accede" in a Sentence

1. The president agreed to accede to their demands in order to avoid civil war.
2. The council will not accede to your demand because it is unreasonable to expect us to pay for the repairs.
3. It would have been a good idea for her to have acceded to the prior to order.
4. You will not be allowed access if you do not accede to this request.
5. I will accede to your request if you agree to mine.
6. He was told to accede to the demands of the people or resign.
7. The king did not want to accede to the peasants' demands.
8. Of course, I want you to accede to my request, but I know that you won't.
9. I will not accede to your request because I don't feel as though it's fair.
10. The man was denied access to the building until he acceded to the security guard's request.
11. The townspeople are up in arms over the mayor's decision to accede to the demands of the protestors.
12. She was finally able to accede to her position as CEO of the company.
13. The company was unable to accede to the union's demand.
14. He was unable to accede the throne due to his age.
15. To secure the finances of the newly independent country, the president had to accede to the demands of several foreign powers.
16. The star athlete muttered under his breath, not wanting to accede to the coach's demonstration on how to face the basket. (i.e. express approval of).

More Examples of "Concede" in a Sentence

1. The two candidates conceded that they were not intelligent enough for the debate.
2. Sara conceded that she did not want to go to the party with him.
3. I conceded that they had a point, but on the larger issue, we agreed to disagree.
4. I told him about my idea, and he conceded that it had potential.
5. Under the new rules for the debate, the winner may concede defeat at any time.
6. He was compelled to concede defeat when he lost his last rook.
7. The team conceded a goal just before the final whistle in the soccer match.
8. The company conceded that they had made a mistake in their calculations.
9. The team conceded the game to their opponent, refusing to continue the losing effort.
10. The businessman conceded that it would be hard to close the deal.
11. I'm not conceding defeat yet; this is not over yet.
12. The referee's decision to stop the game has been met with much contention, as it seems as though he conceded to the other team's complaints. 
13. The stakes were so high, and after conceding a couple of points, the team started to feel a little deflated.
14. The candidate won't concede until there is a recount.
15. I concede that he might be right, but I can't accept his opinion as my own.

More Examples of "Exceed" in a Sentence

1. I exceeded my father's expectations, but I couldn't ever seem to exceed my own.
2. Nina exceeded our expectations in the interview.
3. My boss's expectations for me exceeded my own.
4. The amount of water I drank exceeded my daily intake by 3 cups.
5. The number of miles I ran in the past 5 days exceeds the number of miles I ran in the past week.
6. Donald's weight exceeded that of his brother by about 20 pounds.
7. The size of the building exceeds the size to which they are accustomed.
8. I exceeded my daily caloric intake and ended up feeling bloated and lethargic.
9. Carl exceeded his allocated budget by $15,000.
10. I never exceed the speed limit on the freeway.
11. My desire exceeds my ability.
12. The expectations for profits exceeded the actual targets for this fiscal year.
13. The number of passengers exceeded the limit for this flight
14. The cost of the repairs exceeded our available funds, so we had to borrow money from friends and family to pay for it.
15. I exceeded my daily calorie limit by eating too much ice cream.
16. The new restaurant exceeded our expectations.
17. The drunk man exceeded the speed limit by 15 mph.
18. The class exceeded its budget by $500.
19. Marcus exceeded his father's expectations and became a doctor.
20. The car exceeded the John's expectations and lasted 20 years.
21. Exceeding the speed limit could result in a ticket.
22. The new law will help to prevent companies from exceeding emissions standards.
23. You exceeded your budget for this trip by spending $500 more than you had.
24. I've never had a burrito that exceeded my expectations, but I'm going to keep looking—the perfect burrito has to be out there somewhere. 
25. I exceeded my monthly budget with one purchase.
26. The snow exceeded Anna's expectations and she was very happy.