beseech 1 of 4

Definition of beseechnext

beseeching

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adjective

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

beseeching

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noun

beseeching

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verb (2)

present participle of beseech

Synonym Chooser

How is the word beseech distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of beseech are adjure, beg, entreat, implore, importune, and supplicate. While all these words mean "to ask urgently," beseech and implore imply a deeply felt anxiety.

I beseech you to have mercy
implored her not to leave him

In what contexts can adjure take the place of beseech?

While in some cases nearly identical to beseech, adjure implies advising as well as pleading.

we were adjured to tell the truth

When is beg a more appropriate choice than beseech?

The words beg and beseech are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, beg suggests earnestness or insistence in the asking.

they begged for help

When is it sensible to use entreat instead of beseech?

The meanings of entreat and beseech largely overlap; however, entreat implies an effort to persuade or to overcome resistance.

entreated me to join them

When could importune be used to replace beseech?

Although the words importune and beseech have much in common, importune suggests an annoying persistence in trying to break down resistance to a request.

importuning viewers for contributions

Where would supplicate be a reasonable alternative to beseech?

In some situations, the words supplicate and beseech are roughly equivalent. However, supplicate suggests a posture of humility.

with bowed heads they supplicated their Lord

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 beseech
Verb
Leaders of the community, which includes one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors and their descendants in the world, beseeched the government to take stronger action. Dina Kraft, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Dec. 2025 That didn’t mollify Pleasant View neighbors, like Nancy Pate, who attended that August meeting and beseeched the commissioners not to sign off on housing at the Glo Park site. John Aguilar, Denver Post, 15 Oct. 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 See All Example Sentences for beseech
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beseech
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
  • Often, Ridge to Rivers spends much of the winter pleading with users to avoid trails in particularly clay-heavy locations in an effort to minimize damage.
    Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Hahn’s announcement follows months of fan-casting, pleading and enthusiasm as speculation swirled around her potential involvement in the upcoming film.
    Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Violators can be punished with fines up to $500 and three months in jail under one anti-begging law and with fines starting at up to $100 and 10 days in jail under a law against soliciting contributions from people in cars.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • But their discharge petition, introduced last week, is short of the 218 signatures needed to move forward.
    CBS News, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The interior ministry’s own letter confirming the reopening, seen by Semafor, explicitly references Nyamita’s petition as the trigger.
    Joseph Maina, semafor.com, 27 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • This kind of boosterism—no less evident in Bernard Lewis’s highbrow argument in The New Yorker that Muslims fear modernity than in Niall Ferguson’s entreaties for the Bush Administration to resume the British Empire’s task of civilizing the natives—always seemed bafflingly sterile to me.
    Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Samsung and Amazon will team up to bring interactive technology from Amazon to Samsung TV Plus, giving users the opportunity to shop from Amazon via their remote control or respond to other entreaties from advertisers.
    Brian Steinberg, Variety, 24 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Like the appeals made by women during the antiquity to midwife goddesses, prayer and supplication were ways to affirm intentions for healthy pregnancies, calm labors, and living children.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Under Jordan’s steely command, deep house, disco, and UK garage all bend in supplication to the almighty groove.
    Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • But Old Trafford’s direct imploring of him to stay beyond the end of the current season should leave them in no doubt.
    Mark Critchley, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Truist is seeking compensatory damages, an injunction against further soliciting and hiring of its employees, and attorney fees.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 29 Jan. 2026
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Beseech.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beseech. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

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