Synonym Chooser

How does the verb require contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of require are claim, demand, and exact. While all these words mean "to ask or call for something as due or as necessary," require suggests the imperativeness that arises from inner necessity, compulsion of law or regulation, or the exigencies of the situation.

the patient requires constant attention

When is it sensible to use claim instead of require?

The synonyms claim and require are sometimes interchangeable, but claim implies a demand for the delivery or concession of something due as one's own or one's right.

claimed the right to manage his own affairs

When is demand a more appropriate choice than require?

While the synonyms demand and require are close in meaning, demand implies peremptoriness and insistence and often the right to make requests that are to be regarded as commands.

demanded payment of the debt

Where would exact be a reasonable alternative to require?

In some situations, the words exact and require are roughly equivalent. However, exact implies not only demanding but getting what one demands.

exacts absolute loyalty

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 require Third Federal Savings and Loan FAQs What credit score is required for a HELOC? Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 18 Sep. 2025 Oddly, the Dolby Access app, required for Atmos equalizers, isn’t preinstalled. Charles Jefferies, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2025 Depending on how much of an overstress [there is], an invasive level of inspection might be required. ArsTechnica, 15 Sep. 2025 Housing Senate Bill 79 would require communities to approve more housing developments near train and bus stations in many counties across the state. Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 15 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for require
Recent Examples of Synonyms for require
Verb
  • London desperately needs that at a time when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his ministers have been accused of harming business sentiment and investment with recent tax rises.
    Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
  • However, the win was a team effort as forward Brianna Turner (four points, six rebounds), forward Mikayla Timpson (nine points), guards Shey Peddy, Lexie Hull, and Aerial Powers brought the defensive energy and physicality that Indiana desperately needed.
    Allison Smith, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In 1780, John Adams wanted the Continental Congress to standardize English, but the proposal to mandate English was rejected.
    Doug Melville, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The kickoff trend NFL officials have wanted the kickoff to return to relevance, and after modifications to the play last season and one final modification to the rules this offseason, the goal appears attainable.
    Mike Jones, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Each of us takes about twenty thousand breaths every single day—twenty thousand chances for the air around us to either sustain life or to quietly harm it.
    Bill Frist, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
  • In a video taken by a security camera at his mother's driveway, obtained by ABC News, a federal agent can be heard asking Gamez Lira to turn off the engine and to not resist.
    Armando Garcia, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Require.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/require. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on require

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