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

Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, said Wednesday night that petitioners collected more than the roughly 875,000 signatures needed to place the original proposal before voters. —Sophie Austin, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026

Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, said Wednesday night that petitioners collected more than the roughly 875,000 signatures needed to place the original proposal before voters. —ABC News, 18 June 2026

While welcoming the sales tax proposal, Omer, the petitioner in the legal case, and Khan, who is representing her, are pressing for the complete eradication of the entire taxation regime surrounding menstrual items, including additional levies on raw materials used to make sanitary pads. —Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 16 June 2026

George Santos, Dinesh D’Souza, Michael Flynn, Lil Wayne, Conrad Black, Roger Stone, Rod Blagojevich—there has been no shortage of talent eager to engage with the clemency process, and desperate petitioners would likely be willing to compete. —Cullen Murphy, The Atlantic, 13 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for petitioner

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