supplicant 1 of 2

Definition of supplicantnext
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

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supplicant

2 of 2

noun

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

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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 supplicant
Adjective
Many officers presumed that the only way to advance up the ranks, or avoid a hazing, or even keep their jobs, was to be supplicant to the brass. Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025 At the moment, we are congregated in an oval of elderly metal folding chairs and are all sitting congruently in pensive, supplicant postures—with hunched shoulders and elbows on knees, our fingers steepled contemplatively and pressed against our lips. Barrett Swanson, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
Carney has transformed into a de facto spokesman for those middle powers, none of which want to turn into supplicants or get caught with their pants down between two superpowers, such as the United States and China, that are increasingly using coercion as a method of statecraft. Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 27 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
  • That’s the prayerful explanation for the nonsense that spouted this week from the leaders of a football conference that hopes to grow up and be the Big Ten someday.
    Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 29 May 2026
  • 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
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
Noun
  • Gobert was chief among the beggars imploring his teammates for a shred of consistency on that end of the floor.
    Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 27 Apr. 2026
  • 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
Noun
  • There are also entertaining recollections of how Cameron joined the band (after Thayil saved him from a Scientologist solicitor) and how Shepherd was especially coveted by Cornell because the bassist was from Bainbridge, Washington, just like Cornell’s beloved roommate Andy Wood.
    Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 9 June 2026
  • Review your shareholder agreement with a corporate solicitor.
    Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Noun
  • Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, said Wednesday night that petitioners collected more than the roughly 875,000 signatures needed to place the original proposal before voters.
    Sophie Austin, Fortune, 21 June 2026
  • Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, said Wednesday night that petitioners collected more than the roughly 875,000 signatures needed to place the original proposal before voters.
    Sophie Austin, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Noun
  • One of their tactics was to charge record requesters not just for copying costs but for the time workers spent assembling the records.
    U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2026
  • 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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Cite this Entry

“Supplicant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/supplicant. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.

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