Learn English – Are “concur” and “agree” exact synonyms

synonymsword-usage

I was talking to a friend and he said something I agreed with so much I said the common phrase:

I couldn't agree more

except, I said "concur" instead of agree because we were using Skype, and back when Cortana was a thing, the suggested phrase was always "I concur" instead of "I agree". My question is, do

I couldn't agree more

and

I couldn't concur more

mean the same thing, or is concur badly used here?

Best Answer

Concur and agree are synonyms, but "I couldn't agree more" is a set phrase. While they technically mean the same thing, replacing agree with concur in that phrase sounds a little peculiar.

Concur is highly formal, commonly found in legislative or judicial settings. Agree is a more frequent and common word. "I couldn't agree more" is somewhat colloquial, so rephrasing with concur sticks out as a weird word choice.