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
Relevance
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
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 petition
Jake Kanter, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025
The petition, launched by a Missouri resident named Joyce, argues that lawmakers should not be paid their salary or benefits during the shutdown and that their salaries should be reduced by 2 percent for each day the government remains closed.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Since January, Black Mountain, an energy consortium, has successfully petitioned the city to rezone more than 300 acres for light industrial use near the Forest Hill and Everman borders.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petition
Noun
The petition alone could trigger the freezing of All Star Entertainment’s bank accounts.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025
The petition, launched by a Missouri resident named Joyce, argues that lawmakers should not be paid their salary or benefits during the shutdown and that their salaries should be reduced by 2 percent for each day the government remains closed.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
In each of the other three instances, Avery's attorneys went to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the denials, then petitioned the state Supreme Court, which declined to review the case.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Since January, Black Mountain, an energy consortium, has successfully petitioned the city to rezone more than 300 acres for light industrial use near the Forest Hill and Everman borders.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petition
Noun
-
Morris, 64, entered guilty pleas to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child in an Osage County courtroom.—
Nolan Clay,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Two administrators from a closed Waukesha day care entered pleas on reduced misdemeanor charges for failing to report child abuse.—
Jim Riccioli,
jsonline.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Guerrero kept waving, begging for a challenge to erase the mistake.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
In a throwback to the warts-and-all silliness of the family’s legendary MTV reality show, The Osbournes, Coming Home appears to lean into the domestic comedy of the Osbourne clan, opening with a jittery Ozzy begging Sharon to stop driving in a herky-jerky manner.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For a generation living in great uncertainty—from the GFC to COVID to cost-of-living pressures—Trump’s disruptive appeal offers both a protest and a sense of control.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
So while the shutdown is set to disrupt a wide range of federal programs, the SSA will continue holding appointments for benefit applications, considering appeals requests, and issuing original and replacement Social Security cards, among other services.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement, is a holiday when Jews engage in fasting, prayer and reflection, beginning at sundown Wednesday.—
Alex Leff,
NPR,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Religiousness was measured by responses to questions about the importance of religion, religious attendance, frequency of prayer and belief in God.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Petition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petition. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share