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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."
Examples of behest in a Sentence
Arkansas Online, 12 June 2025
Both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins received new extensions at the behest of quarterback Joe Burrow.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
Murry, who fancied himself a songwriter, encouraged and prodded his sons, who cut a few tunes at Keen Recording Studios at the behest of his music publisher, Hite Morgan.
—Roy Trakin, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2025
Chung Kuo hardly scratched the surface of what had happened in China up to 1972, when the film was made, as Antonioni had purposely avoided anything negative, at the behest of the Party.
—Nan Z. Da
june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Behest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behest. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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behest
noun
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