behest

noun

be·​hest bi-ˈhest 

bē-

1

: an authoritative order : command

The meeting was called at the senator's behest.

2

: an urgent prompting

At the behest of her friends, she read the poem aloud.

Did you know?

Behest is an ancient word: it is almost a thousand years old. It was formed from the prefix be- and the verb hātan ("to command" or "to promise"), and its Old English ancestor was used exclusively in the sense of "promise," a now-obsolete meaning that continued on in Middle English especially in the phrase "the land of behest." The "command" meaning of behest is also ancient but it's still in good use, typically referring to an authoritative order. Behest is now also used with a less weighty meaning; it can refer to an urgent prompting, as in "a repeat performance at the behest of the troupe's fans."

Synonyms

• charge
• command
• commandment
• decree
• dictate
• direction
• directive
• do
• edict
• imperative
• injunction
• instruction
• order
• word

Examples of behest in a Sentence

I only made the change at the author's behest.

Recent Examples on the Web

Universal is distributing Monkey Man at the behest of Jordan Peele, who was so impressed with Patel’s film that Peele’s Monkey Paw Productions boarded the project and brought it to Universal, his home studio on the movie side. —Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2024

Stockton’s purpose this week was to testify about the 2016 prison killing of 53-year-old Douglas Maynard, a homicide that prosecutors contend was done at the behest of higher-ups in the Aryan Brotherhood. —Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024

Instead, customers have had to redirect to a web browser at the behest of the streaming platform. —Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 27 Mar. 2024

Cotton committed the killing at the behest of Braylin Brown, a notorious Crips street gang member in Fort Worth. —Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024

Hong Kong on Tuesday passed national security laws at the behest of Beijing, thwarting decades of public resistance in a move that critics say will strike a lasting blow to the partial autonomy the city had been promised by China. —David Pierson, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024

Some lawmakers have accused the app of boosting these messages at the behest of the Chinese government. —Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 15 Mar. 2024

More subreddits reopened, often at the behest of users wanting their community support systems or entertainment outlets back. —Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024

Contra Trump’s campaign has focused heavily on Biden’s border policies in its attacks on the president, but Trump has largely centered his rhetoric surrounding the president on his own legal woes, casting them as a product of a justice system working at Biden’s behest. —Sara Dorn, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, promise, command, from Old English behǣs promise, from behātan to promise, from be- + hātan to command, promise — more at hight

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing behest

• at someone's behest
• at the behest of someone

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Kids Definition

behest

noun

be·​hest bi-ˈhest 

: order entry 2 sense 5b, command

built monuments at their ruler's behest