Thesaurus results for PLEAS

pleas

noun

plural of plea

as in appeals

an earnest request the captive made an impassioned plea for his life to be spared

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 William Bethel, 28, and Justin Booth, 23, have 40 guilty pleas combined because of evidence collected at Three Creeks Metro Park where hunting is not allowed. — Kris Millgate, Outdoor Life, 21 Aug. 2026 The cuts were challenged in lawsuits and through pleas to legislators. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026 The 50-year-old father, Sajid Akram, was shot and killed by police at the scene, while the surviving suspect, Naveed Akram, 24, has not yet entered pleas on a slew of charges, including 15 counts of murder. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026 The controversial hearings are preliminary in nature and offer individuals an opportunity to enter pleas or request relief, such as asylum. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2026 Through May, prosecutors had charged fewer than four dozen people with crimes related to noncitizen voting, ProPublica’s analysis of DOJ data and federal court filings shows, getting convictions or guilty pleas in 14 cases. — Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 14 Aug. 2026 And in 2020, the Daily News reported that one Bronx gun suspect was acquitted and two others were allowed to withdraw felony guilty pleas after Habib admitted evidence in the case had been tampered with. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026 Not guilty pleas were entered on Aravind’s behalf on each charge. — Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 13 Aug. 2026 Other content contained traditional pleas to small-dollar donors. — Michael Traugott, The Conversation, 12 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pleas

Noun

Keep photos, serial numbers, maintenance receipts and technician notes because these only strengthen claims and appeals.

— Alora Bopray, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Habeas petitions are often filed as a last resort and to protect against unlawful confinement after appeals are exhausted, as happened after Maxwell’s conviction and sentencing.

— Michael R. Sisak, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of appeals

Noun

The software company PDFFly surveyed 2000 managers and senior managers and found that while 85% of managers suspect their employees are making fake excuses to grab extra time off in the summer, half of management are doing exactly that themselves.

— Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
Save as a collection on MyRecipes Fall brings football tailgates, family dinners, and dozens more excuses to gather.

— Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of excuses

Noun

Guests were encouraged to offer prayers by sprinkling tobacco, sage, white cedar, and sweetgrass on the fire.

— Gregory Harutunian, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
By early October, fears intensified after Parton’s sister, Freida Parton, took to Facebook and asked fans for their prayers.

— Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of prayers

Noun

Idaho allows exemptions for medical, religious or other reasons, and medical justifications account for very few of those exemptions, according to data from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

— Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 21 Aug. 2026
At the center lies carceral safety politics—logics that turn fears of violence into justifications for punitive responses.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of justifications

Noun

This increase happens for two reasons — both tied to the fact that El Niño is characterized by warmer than average ocean temperatures in the equatorial tropical Pacific Ocean.

— Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
Less than a week after our Zoom conversation with Knapp, an unrelated Good Good collab went viral for all of the wrong reasons.

— Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of reasons

Browse Nearby Words

plead (to)

pleas

pleasance

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pleas.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pleas. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of pleas

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

illustrious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes