Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - consensus

 noun  Usage: often attributive  Etymology: Latin, from consentire  Date: 1843  1.  a. general agreement ; unanimity the ~ of their opinion, based on reports…from the border — John Hersey  b. the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned the ~ was to go ahead  2. group solidarity in sentiment and belief Usage:  The phrase ~ of opinion, which is not actually redundant (see sense 1a; the sense that takes the phrase is slightly older), has been so often claimed to be a redundancy that many writers avoid it. You are safe in using ~ alone when it is clear you mean ~ of opinion, and most writers in fact do so.