petitioner

noun

pe·​ti·​tion·​er pə-ˈti-sh(ə-)nər 

plural petitioners

: one who makes, submits, or signs a petition

The lost children had not been found. Public prayers had been offered up for them, and many and many a private prayer that had the petitioner's whole heart in it; but still no good news came from the cave.

—Mark Twain

The high court held that when a petition charges an official with violating the law, the petitioners must at least have knowledge of facts which indicate an intent to commit an unlawful act.

—The National Law Journal

The petitioner contended that the taking of the blood sample and the admission of the test results violated his fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination …

—Raymond P. Ward

… the draft of the proposed petition was read at length: and the petition said, as all petitions DO say, that the petitioners were very humble, and the petitioned very honourable, and the object very virtuous; therefore (said the petition) the bill ought to be passed into a law at once …

—Charles Dickens

Included in Wednesday's court filing was a petition signed by more than 500 area residents. The petitioners ask that Johnson "be shown mercy and not subjected to a jail term" because he has lost so much due to the conviction.

—Michael Smith

Synonyms of petitioner

• solicitor
• pleader
• requester
• beggar
• suppliant

Examples of petitioner in a Sentence

the lottery winner was beset by a horde of petitioners, all of whom thought that they were most deserving of his charity

Recent Examples on the Web

From 2019 to 2024, almost 75% of petitioners received some form of relief, compared to 43% nationwide, according to data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a nonprofit data research center based at Syracuse University. —ABC News, 22 May 2026

The filing also notes that Raffensperger is himself a candidate in the May 19 primary, a fact the petitioners argue creates an inherent conflict of interest that makes independent oversight all the more necessary. —Cbs News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 19 May 2026

The drive-thru coffee house will take over the property previously occupied by TGI Fridays, which closed five years ago, said petitioner James Hus of the DVG Team. —Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2026

This case was brought by petitioner Shawn Montgomery, who suffered injuries in an accident in his tractor-trailer by a truck driven by Yosniel Varela-Mojena. —Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for petitioner

• commissioner
• conditioner
• parishioner
• positioner
• practitioner
• missioner