as in supplicant
one who asks earnestly for a favor or gift
didn't like being in the position of a suppliant, having to ask her parents to help her pay the rent on her apartment
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as in prayerful
asking humbly
the suppliant thief pleaded for a second chance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suppliant
Teju Cole, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Like other Te Deums, the work is both laudatory and suppliant, petitioning the divine for continued mercy.
—Hannah Edgar, chicagotribune.com, 21 Aug. 2021
It was thought that Betelgeuse was bigger than the orbit of Jupiter in our Solar System, but recent studies suggest that the red suppliant star is about a third less than that at about 750 the radius of our Sun.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 16 June 2021
William pays price for grabbing The reaction of the male to his suppliants varies.
—National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019
Part of the progress, according to Mr. Selee, is a reaction against President Trump’s Mexiphobia, but the underlying influences are long-term and irreversible: Mexico is no longer a feeble suppliant but a potent, necessary partner.
—Felipe Fernández-Armesto, WSJ, 25 June 2018
Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Furious at their alma maters’ embrace of DEI, suppression of free speech, hot-housing antisemitic bigotry, and so much more, college alumni are increasingly organizing and publicly challenging the administrations and suppliant boards of America’s leading universities.
—Jack Fowler, National Review, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
And as happens with the testimonies of the suppliants at the Asclepieion, the stelae ferry the feelings and names of these distant others across the ages to us.
—Teju Cole, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Like other Te Deums, the work is both laudatory and suppliant, petitioning the divine for continued mercy.
—Hannah Edgar, chicagotribune.com, 21 Aug. 2021
It was thought that Betelgeuse was bigger than the orbit of Jupiter in our Solar System, but recent studies suggest that the red suppliant star is about a third less than that at about 750 the radius of our Sun.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 16 June 2021
William pays price for grabbing The reaction of the male to his suppliants varies.
—National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019
Part of the progress, according to Mr. Selee, is a reaction against President Trump’s Mexiphobia, but the underlying influences are long-term and irreversible: Mexico is no longer a feeble suppliant but a potent, necessary partner.
—Felipe Fernández-Armesto, WSJ, 25 June 2018
Adjective
Both are comfortable, however, with a weakened Iran that does their bidding, offers better deals, and becomes a more suppliant instrument of their regional ambitions.
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Furious at their alma maters’ embrace of DEI, suppression of free speech, hot-housing antisemitic bigotry, and so much more, college alumni are increasingly organizing and publicly challenging the administrations and suppliant boards of America’s leading universities.
—Jack Fowler, National Review, 28 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suppliant
Noun
-
Trump, however, is unapologetically brandishing U.S. power to, in effect, create an entire hemisphere full of supplicants willing to do America’s bidding.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
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Even Putin, not known for sparing the blushes of supplicants, seems embarrassed on Erdogan’s behalf.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
22 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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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
-
In the old days beggars were drawn and quartered in that square.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
-
In Havana, beggars are ubiquitous.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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District Attorney Spencer Merriweather on Monday also asked the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate the petitioners’ claims, including looking into whether McFadden committed any crime.—
Ryan Oehrli,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Jan. 2026
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The full scope of the petitioners’ politics is unknown).—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In the summer of 1898, when Ken left Westminster School for a solicitor’s office in Weymouth, Alan, without his brothers or his mother, went on holiday with his father.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Dec. 2025
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Police also reportedly met with a solicitor Tuesday, just hours before he was set to speak to the media about the fire.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
5 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The conservative legal group is asking for the total number of FOIA requests the agency receives, how many seek expedited treatment, how many are granted, how many invoke environmental justice as justification, and the identities and affiliations of requesters approved under that provision.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Dec. 2025
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Upon connecting with the link and entering the code, the recipient is presented with a drag-and-drop target for sharing files with the requester.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suppliant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suppliant. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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