as in prayerful
asking humbly
a beseeching letter from his parents asking him to bring the grandchildren for a long overdue visit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in pleading
Related Words
as in begging
to make a request to (someone) in an earnest or urgent manner
parishioners ardently beseeched the local bishop not to close their beloved church
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of beseeching
Howard Blum, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
The same beseeching gaze gets complicated by a character like Dre—at once naïve and ruthless, in control yet entirely lost.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2023
Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
This case has seen lot of what amounts to table-pounding by the defense, with a constant rat-a-tat-tat of motions, demands for discovery, followed by more beseeching requests.
—Howard Blum, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
The same beseeching gaze gets complicated by a character like Dre—at once naïve and ruthless, in control yet entirely lost.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2023
Noun
Prayer is a basic practice of almost all religions, and what is prayer if not a beseeching of a synchronicity from God?
—Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
Almost every time there’s a close call the player comes up twirling his finger, beseeching his coach to ask for a review.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beseeching
Adjective
-
The Sagrada Família was founded as an expiatory church, meaning that it would be financed by prayerful donations from people atoning for their sins.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Pärt’s formulas, born out of long, prayerful periods with sacred texts, offer beauty in the warmth and friction of relationships: melody and tintinnabuli, word and the limits of language, sounds and silence.—
Jeffers Engelhardt,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In November, Johnson, fed up with McNamara’s disenchantment and his pleadings for a policy shift toward negotiations, announced that the defense secretary would depart the administration to lead the World Bank—in effect, firing him.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
-
Despite my pleading, the insurance company wouldn’t budge.—
Nicholas Florko,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Instead of calling and begging somebody else to change.—
Joel Feder,
The Drive,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Nearly two decades into her career, Courtney Marie Andrews remains a troubadour of singular sincerity, more interested in listening to the world than begging the world to listen.—
Lily Goldberg,
Pitchfork,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The petition, which was granted by a federal judge, cites reports alleging that guards at the facility choked and asphyxiated Campos.—
Laura Romero,
ABC News,
23 Jan. 2026
-
According to an emergency petition filed in federal court, a district judge granted an emergency injunction ordering Chloe’s release into the custody of her lawyer.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) addressed a letter from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) petitioning for a spot in the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games for American skeleton veteran Katie Uhlaender.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The chapter, East Chicago 3046-B, resurrected itself in November 2024 after nearly a decade by petitioning the state NAACP and was regranted its charter in February, its president, Benita White Arnold, said.—
Michelle L. Quinn,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The entreaties have often fallen flat; the Klaxon can only be sounded so many times before it’s ignored, and, for most people, more prosaic issues govern their daily existence.—
Michael Luo,
New Yorker,
27 Jan. 2026
-
That decision was prompted in no small part by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s entreaties to Trump.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Under Jordan’s steely command, deep house, disco, and UK garage all bend in supplication to the almighty groove.—
Pitchfork,
Pitchfork,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Late nights and anxious supplications.—
Steve Rushin,
The Atlantic,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Christopher George Santanelli, 42, is being held in the Broward County Main Jail on a charge of an authority figure soliciting or engaging in a romantic relationship with a student, jail records show.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beseeching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beseeching. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
