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

Prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the petition, arguing that Smart and her legal team could have brought these issues up in her earlier appeals, the AP reports. — Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026

Currently, recall elections can be held if at least 12% of the people who voted in the last election for that office sign a petition calling for a recall. — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Verb

In 2007, some inhabitants of Little Italy petitioned Mayor Michael Bloomberg to cancel the festival, citing the strain that tourists placed on the local neighborhood and mafia interference. — Clare Whitton, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026

Student groups are petitioning the CES to maintain the school’s traditional hiring practices, where the teaching staff isn’t chosen based only on academic credentials, but also on lived experience. — Caterina Morbiato, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2026