Synonyms of petition

petition 1 of 2

noun

pə-ˈti-shən 

as in plea

an earnest request

a flurry of petitions from eating and drinking establishments to be exempt from the new antismoking regulations

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plea
• appeal
• prayer
• pleading
• desire
• cry
• solicitation
• application
• entreaty
• suit
• supplication
• demand
• adjuration
• suppliance
• call
• requisition
• conjuration
• insistence
• claim

petition

2 of 2

verb

as in to beg

to make a request to (someone) in an earnest or urgent manner

petitioned the judge to be excused from jury duty for financial hardship

Synonyms & Similar Words

• beg
• pray
• ask
• beseech
• implore
• appeal (to)
• entreat
• plead (to)
• request
• call on
• supplicate
• importune
• conjure
• besiege
• solicit
• require
• impetrate
• invoke
• desire
• compel
• demand
• force
• claim
• insist
• coerce
• sponge
• bludge
• cadge
• mooch
• command

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• suggest
• imply
• please
• hint
• satisfy
• intimate
• appease
• oblige
• placate
• gratify
• content
• conciliate
• pacify
• comfort
• console
• quiet
• mollify

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of petition

Noun

Last month a Sacramento judge ruled in favor of the petition by the taxpayer’s group, effectively blocking California from adding the Diwali holiday. — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026

Beginning in July 2025, Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives signed a discharge petition to introduce new aid to Ukraine. — Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Verb

Pfeiffer, a military vet himself, has collected hundreds of pages of records about the crash and his great uncle over the years, and, like Livingston, petitioned DOD to disinter the remains. — Hope McKenney, NPR, 1 Aug. 2026

Oregon State’s players took the campaign a step further, petitioning state regulators for union representation and the right to bargain with their university. — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026