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

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

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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
The prayer quickly ends, and another supplicant hands over his passport. Diaa Hadid, NPR, 19 May 2025 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
Noun
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 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 See All Example Sentences for supplicant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for supplicant
Adjective
  • Tigua dancers of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo performed a prayerful ceremony traditional before a hunt.
    Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 28 June 2026
  • 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
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
  • 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
Noun
  • Robert Pattinson’s big outburst in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey,’ has gone viral—here’s the ‘beggars’ meme, explained.
    Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
  • Antinous shocked even the other suitors by insulting and assaulting an elderly beggar; when the beggar revealed himself as Odysseus and slew the suitors, Antinous was the first to die.
    Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 July 2026
Noun
  • David Moore, senior assistant county solicitor, said the county is required to comply with a state statute that calls for a six-month notice and public comment period for buildings that will be used for immigration detention.
    Adam Thompson, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Brooks said her family has encountered plenty of door-to-door solicitors over the years, but never one knocking that late at night.
    Angelique Brenes, PEOPLE, 5 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Peter Bazos, an attorney representing SC Landman, said that the petitioner is not asking for uses beyond those already permitted or allowed as special uses in the property’s current zoning.
    Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
  • If the presiding judge doesn’t grant the motion, then the petitioner would likely be granted an evidentiary hearing, where evidence and witnesses would be presented.
    Alex Brizee July 30, Idaho Statesman, 30 July 2026
Noun
  • These fees place autopsy reports out of reach for most requesters, including journalists and researchers like me.
    Jonah Walters, The Conversation, 24 June 2026
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Supplicant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/supplicant. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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