as in prayerful
asking humbly
a pleading husband seeking forgiveness once again from his long-suffering wife
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in plea
an earnest request
coldhearted tourists pointedly ignoring the pleadings of the city's many street urchins
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in arguing
to state (something) as a reason in support of or against something under consideration
can I plead temporary insanity for having made that foolish decision?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pleading
Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
Police’s second search of Annie’s home also came hours after Annie, Savannah, and their brother Camron appeared in a second social media video pleading for Nancy’s kidnappers to release her.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 9 Feb. 2026
Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
Gracey, of Chicago suburb Elmhurst, Illinois, was visiting friends who are studying abroad, according to his family, which is pleading for the public’s help in finding him.
—Chris Boyette, CNN Money, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pleading
Noun
Images of a potential person of interest came a day after Savannah Guthrie posted another video pleading for her mother's return.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
Police’s second search of Annie’s home also came hours after Annie, Savannah, and their brother Camron appeared in a second social media video pleading for Nancy’s kidnappers to release her.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 9 Feb. 2026
Verb
America’s beleaguered 1%, backed by their supporters in Congress, are pleading for your sympathy.
—Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
Gracey, of Chicago suburb Elmhurst, Illinois, was visiting friends who are studying abroad, according to his family, which is pleading for the public’s help in finding him.
—Chris Boyette, CNN Money, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pleading
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pleading
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
-
As part of a plea agreement, Jacob Ackerman pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of armed criminal action; a judge handed down the sentence on Monday.—
Nathan Pilling
March 17,
Kansas City Star,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Most of the money went to the nonprofit Viet America Society for a meals program for seniors and the disabled, but only a fraction was spent for that purpose, according to Do’s plea agreement in 2024.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The industry and the White House have pushed back, arguing that a patchwork of rules would hurt growth.—
SEUNG MIN KIM,
Arkansas Online,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Rather than contest his conviction, Olivier used a federal civil rights law to sue the city, arguing his constitutional rights had been violated.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
20 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
-
Attorneys for the family filed an appeal shortly after the denial, Wacocha said.—
Jason Rantala,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
-
To nobody's surprise, the state's leadership promises an appeal.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Every new advance from Anthropic’s breakthroughs in reasoning algorithms to cloud-scale automation makes the entire software ecosystem stronger.—
Milan Shetti,
Fortune,
13 Mar. 2026
-
This is a form of reasoning typical to translators.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The funeral prayer for the 41-year-old Afghan father of six who died Saturday in ICE custody was held Tuesday while more questions arise about why he was picked up and what caused his death less than a day later.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
18 Mar. 2026
-
The sounds of prayer and grief washed over the mosque in Richardson.—
Bo Evans,
CBS News,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Musk’s lawyers moved for a mistrial several times during the contentious trial, contending that Musk couldn’t get a fair trial in San Francisco because of animosity toward him from the public.—
Staff,
Austin American Statesman,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Musk’s lawyers motioned for a mistrial several times during the contentious trial, contending that the billionaire Tesla CEO can’t get a fair trial in San Francisco because of animosity toward him from the public.—
Barbara Ortutay,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pleading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pleading. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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