implore

verb

im·​plore im-ˈplȯr 

implored; imploring

transitive verb

1

a

: to make an earnest request to (someone) : beg

We earnestly implore you to bow out of the practice of clinical medicine and permit us to get on with our difficult job.

—William Steinsmith

… electronic highway signs implore Californians to "Save Water" and municipalities impose increasingly draconian conservation measures …

—Henry I. Miller

b

: to say (something) as a request in a sincere or urgent manner

"Keep your voice down," implored Lupin.

—J. K. Rowling

… accountability has become a watchword of relief agencies around the world, with new guidelines to help donors know that their aid won't be wasted. Give money, Presidents Bush and Clinton implore, and by implication, leave the rest to professionals.

—Nancy Gibbs

2

: to ask or beg for (something) earnestly

On this repetition of Mr Mantalini's fatal threat, Madame Mantalini wrung her hands, and implored the interference of Ralph Nickleby …

—Charles Dickens

To Neapolitans habitually blending pagan and Christian themes, the volcano also became, through its successive manifestations, a personality against whose rages they implored protection from their patron saint …

—Shirley Hazzard

imploringly adverb

Synonyms

• appeal (to)
• beg
• beseech
• besiege
• conjure
• entreat
• impetrate
• importune
• petition
• plead (to)
• pray
• solicit
• supplicate

Choose the Right Synonym for implore

beg, entreat, beseech, implore, supplicate, adjure, importune mean to ask urgently.

beg suggests earnestness or insistence in the asking.

they begged for help

entreat implies an effort to persuade or to overcome resistance.

entreated me to join them

beseech and implore imply a deeply felt anxiety.

I beseech you to have mercy

implored her not to leave him

supplicate suggests a posture of humility.

with bowed heads they supplicated their Lord

adjure implies advising as well as pleading.

we were adjured to tell the truth

importune suggests an annoying persistence in trying to break down resistance to a request.

importuning viewers for contributions

Examples of implore in a Sentence

Don't go. I implore you.

“Think of the children!” he implored.

Recent Examples on the Web

The United States and European allies joined together on Thursday to impose new sanctions on Iranian military leaders and weapon makers, seeking to punish Iran for its missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend, while imploring Israel not to retaliate so strongly as to risk a wider war. —Michael Levenson, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024

Adams intervenes from the viewing galley intercom, imploring his aunt to perform surgery. —Lincee Ray, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2024

For the cover of the April 15, 2024, issue, the cartoonist Peter de Sève set out to implore readers to look closely at the details and the animals that emerge as the weather gets warmer. —Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024

Hirsh-Naftali implored Netanyahu and Hamas leadership to reach a deal to stop the bloodshed and free the hostages. —Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 5 Apr. 2024

Just recently, Robert Griffin III, the second overall pick of the 2012 draft, implored Williams on social media to insist that the Bears not draft him. —Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024

The film's titular metaphor is especially salient in a scene in which Ethan implores Riley not to look at herself through a mirror but through his eyes, something many people told Snow during her own recovery. —Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024

In a roughly 200-word post on Tuesday about the bill and its implications on X, Kirk implored Nebraska to implement a winner-take-all electoral system by passing Lippincott's bill. —Nicholas Kerr, ABC News, 4 Apr. 2024

Morrison also noticed similarities to his Invisibles series, in which a secret group of rebels roam multiple planes of reality, imploring the audience to wake up to the inhuman masters who are controlling the real world. —Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French or Latin; Middle French implorer, from Latin implorare, from in- + plorare to cry out

First Known Use

circa 1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

implore

verb

im·​plore im-ˈplō(ə)r 

-ˈplȯ(ə)r

implored; imploring

: to call upon with a humble request : beseech

implored the manager to give her more responsibility

imploringly adverb