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
Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025
Finally, Berkshire will always be managed in a manner that will make its existence an asset to the United States and eschew activities that would lead it to become a supplicant.
—Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 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
Even Putin, not known for sparing the blushes of supplicants, seems embarrassed on Erdogan’s behalf.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025
Finally, Berkshire will always be managed in a manner that will make its existence an asset to the United States and eschew activities that would lead it to become a supplicant.
—Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 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
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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
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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
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Hollywood turned him into a beggar.—
Lili Anolik,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
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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The Union-Tribune reviewed dozens of San Diego federal judges’ opinions on these cases and found that the district court has, the vast majority of the time, either ordered ICE detention centers to immediately release the petitioners or ordered immigration courts to give them a bond hearing.—
Kristen Taketa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Mar. 2026
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By sanctioning an unlawful deal, the government has created a legal impediment to petitioners' financial recovery.—
Scott MacFarlane,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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Michigan sent 40 pages of documents that included the requester’s name and date, but contained nothing about the actual request.—
Katie Moore,
Kansas City Star,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Supplicant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/supplicant. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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