as in prayerful
asking humbly
hated having to go before his boss like a supplicant beggar whenever he needed some time off to attend to personal matters
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in suppliant
one who asks earnestly for a favor or gift
the new governor soon had to deal with a long line of supplicants asking for jobs and other political favors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of supplicant
Matt Pottinger, Foreign Affairs, 10 Apr. 2024
Speakers seemed alternately angry and supplicant, aware, at some level, their efforts probably won’t work.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 July 2021
Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 21 Jan. 2026
Even Putin, not known for sparing the blushes of supplicants, seems embarrassed on Erdogan’s behalf.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for supplicant
Adjective
For the first time in years, Xi appeared to have successfully positioned the United States as supplicant in the bilateral relationship.
—Matt Pottinger, Foreign Affairs, 10 Apr. 2024
Speakers seemed alternately angry and supplicant, aware, at some level, their efforts probably won’t work.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 July 2021
Noun
Kutcher's character is odious and purely evil, murderous and egomaniacal and basking in unearned compliments of brilliance by his supplicants.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 21 Jan. 2026
Even Putin, not known for sparing the blushes of supplicants, seems embarrassed on Erdogan’s behalf.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for supplicant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for supplicant
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
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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
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Like other Te Deums, the work is both laudatory and suppliant, petitioning the divine for continued mercy.—
Hannah Edgar,
chicagotribune.com,
21 Aug. 2021
Noun
-
Hollywood turned him into a beggar.—
Lili Anolik,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
-
In the old days beggars were drawn and quartered in that square.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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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
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Mina also happens to be engaged to Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), a solicitor who pays a visit to the Count at his Romanian palace for a real estate deal.—
Katie Walsh,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In accordance with the village’s Affordable Housing Ordinance, 5% of the development’s total units (4 total units for this development plan) must qualify as affordable housing, or petitioners may pay a $100,000 per unit (or $400,000 in total) fee-in-lieu of onsite affordable units.—
Claire Murphy,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Feb. 2026
-
State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman sided with the Democratic petitioners in January.—
Molly Parks,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Allen Hodges, whose 16-year-old daughter died from an epileptic seizure in 2020, has pushed to clarify the state’s public records law to ensure that such images can’t be released to a requester, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.—
Kevin Fixler,
Idaho Statesman,
4 Feb. 2026
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The stories are based on a questionnaire filled out by the requester.—
Natalie Davies,
Freep.com,
18 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Supplicant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/supplicant. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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