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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in prayerful
asking humbly
the suppliant thief pleaded for a second chance
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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More than anything, in the halo headpieces that are her signature accessory, Mary recalls a medieval religious icon, the Holy Virgin as fictional diva, touching down on stages in major markets to be adored by seas of light-waving supplicants.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2026
-
One of its most common tools is to write a book, or have a book written, to introduce the presidential supplicant to voters.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
4 Feb. 2026
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
-
Antinous later shocked the other suitors by insulting and assaulting with a footstool an elderly beggar who had spoken to him in the palace hall.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Mar. 2026
-
So disguised as a beggar, Odysseus shows up at his palace, and he is not treated very nicely by the suitors who have camped out in his house.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The council, in granting initial approval, said petitioners must provide a full development plan and agree to improvements at the site.—
Deborah Laverty,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Nationwide, asylum status was granted to 497 petitioners in February out of 18,913 applications, a 2% success rate.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Fox News Digital has reached out to the coroner’s office, South Carolina Highway Patrol, and the solicitor’s office for comment.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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The first is Jonathan Harker, naïve English solicitor despatched to Transylvania to do a deal with a mysterious Count whose plan is to dip his fangs into Victorian England.—
Demetrios Matheou,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In Lexington, a school employee was caught discussing whether production costs could be inflated in hopes that a requester would give up.—
Paul Diego Craney,
Boston Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
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Under the bill, police would only release footage if the requester shows up in person with a notarized statement.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Suppliant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suppliant. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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