pleas

noun

plural of plea
1
as in appeals
an earnest request the captive made an impassioned plea for his life to be spared

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in excuses
an explanation that frees one from fault or blame my only plea is that I've been overworked lately

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 pleas The National Capital Planning Commission heard nearly eight hours of impassioned pleas from veterans, lawmakers, residents and concerned citizens opposed to the structure. — Rachel Treisman, NPR, 6 Nov. 2026 As for the next chapters of Glee and Girls, may the writers’ rooms hear our post-election pleas. — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 6 Nov. 2026 The suspect in Nebraska was detained pending trial after pleading not guilty, while the three suspects in New Jersey have not entered pleas. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026 After hearing pleas from more than a dozen prominent community and business leaders, commissioners agreed to decertify the entertainment district and strip it of its special privileges. — Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026 Efforts to bring Pooh home over the years have entailed questions in Parliament, motions in Congress, pleas from prime ministers and mediation by two presidents. — Steve Hendrix The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026 According to the Alameda County Public Defender's office, 77-year-old Shouyong Zhang and his wife, 77-year-old Shili Chen, entered their pleas on Monday. — Tim Fang, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026 Mom makes final pleas Pedraza, Sierra’s mother, walked out of the courtroom in tears Wednesday evening after completing her testimony. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026 For about a year, Austin Davis’ phone has been flooded with hundreds of pleas for help from across the Phoenix metropolitan area. — Nicole Santa Cruz, ProPublica, 7 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pleas
  1. appeals
  2. excuses
  3. prayers
  4. justifications
  5. petitions
  6. reasons
Noun
  • Big business interests like building owners, developers and the property tax attorneys that file appeals for both lined up with Hynes, who convinced party officials to endorse him over the summer.
    — A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Before that, Gooden was an appellate attorney who handled hundreds of appeals.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of appeals
Noun
  • The players understand what’s at stake, and none are making any excuses in the locker room after yet another sluggish start for the unit.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Nov. 2026
  • But veteran guards such as Norman Powell don’t want to couch their inefficiency on the boards in any excuses about a new scheme.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of excuses
Noun
  • Chris is a great friend to Connecticut and to me personally, and Annie and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers.
    — Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Thanks for all of your well wishes and prayers along the way.
    — Alicia Brunker, InStyle, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of prayers
Noun
  • Amid this intimacy, there are fundamental suspicions and self-serving justifications.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Tina was granted a divorce on grounds of cruelty, one of the few legal justifications for divorce in 1903.
    — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of justifications
Noun
  • Some members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition opposed the law, however, and right-wing opposition parties filed petitions to challenge it in court.
    — Hannah Ridge, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Members have protested through petitions and an 1,100-member boycott.
    — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of petitions
Noun
  • LaFountain and another lawyer who did not want to be named out of fear of retribution for their clients said Bridgeport’s probate court denies cases for reasons beyond the requirements.
    — Sasha Allen, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026
  • That fear, coupled with the fact that ICE has been showing up in religious spaces across the country, are the main reasons why the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is encouraging rabbis to take the poll chaplain training, said Pesner.
    — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of reasons

Browse Nearby Words

plead (to)
pleas
pleasance
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Cite this Entry

“Pleas.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pleas. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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