Agreement, n.
Etymology: [Cf. F. agrément.]
1. State of agreeing; harmony of opinion, statement, action, or character; concurrence; concord; conformity; as, a good agreement subsists among the members of the council. What agreement hath the temple of God with idols 2 Cor. vi. 16. Expansion and duration have this further agreement. Locke.
2. (Gram.)
Concord or correspondence of one word with another in gender, number, case, or person.
3. (Law) (a) A concurrence in an engagement that something shall be done or omitted; an exchange of promises; mutual understanding, arrangement, or stipulation; a contract. (b) The language, oral or written, embodying reciprocal promises. Abbott. Brande & C.
1 more senses
Syn. -- Bargain; contract; compact; stipulation.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for agreement; he lists it under contract, harmony.
Where he writes about it:
A consideration, or compensation, is essential to convert an agreement into a contract. — from contract
A bargain is a mutual agreement for an exchange of values, without the formality of a contract. — from contract
A stipulation is a single item in an agreement or contract. — from contract
A cartel is a military agreement for the exchange of prisoners or the like. — from contract
Harmony is deeper and more essential than agreement; we may have a superficial, forced, or patched-up agreement, but never a superficial, forced, or patched-up harmony. — from harmony
Congruity involves the element of suitableness; consistency implies the absence of conflict or contradiction in views, statements, or acts which are brought into comparison, as in the different statements of the same person or the different periods of one man's life; unanimity is the complete hearty agreement of many; consent and concurrence refer to decision or action, but consent is more passive than concurrence; one speaks by general consent when no one in the assembly cares to make formal objection; a decision of the Supreme Court depends upon the concurrence of a majority of the judges. — from harmony