Beseech \Be*seech"\, n.
Solicitation; supplication. [Obs. or Poetic] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Beseech \Be*seech"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Besought; p. pr. &
vb. n. Beseeching.] [OE. bisechen, biseken (akin to G.
besuchen to visit); pref. be- + sechen, seken, to seek. See
Seek.]
1. To ask or entreat with urgency; to supplicate; to implore.
[1913 Webster]
I beseech you, punish me not with your hard
thoughts. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
But Eve . . . besought his peace. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: To beg; to crave.
Usage: To Beseech, Entreat, Solicit, Implore,
Supplicate. These words agree in marking that sense
of want which leads men to beg some favor. To solicit
is to make a request, with some degree of earnestness
and repetition, of one whom we address as a superior.
To entreat implies greater urgency, usually enforced
by adducing reasons or arguments. To beseech is still
stronger, and belongs rather to the language of poetry
and imagination. To implore denotes increased fervor
of entreaty, as addressed either to equals or
superiors. To supplicate expresses the extreme of
entreaty, and usually implies a state of deep
humiliation. Thus, a captive supplicates a conqueror
to spare his life. Men solicit by virtue of their
interest with another; they entreat in the use of
reasoning and strong representations; they beseech
with importunate earnestness; they implore from a
sense of overwhelming distress; they supplicate with a
feeling of the most absolute inferiority and
dependence.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
beseech
v : ask for or request earnestly; "The prophet bid all people to
become good persons" [syn: bid, entreat, adjure, press,
conjure]
[also: besought]
WordNet (r) 2.0
36 Moby Thesaurus words for "beseech":
adjure, appeal, appeal to, beg, call for help, call on, call upon,
clamor for, commune with God, conjure, crave, cry for, cry on,
cry to, entreat, give thanks, impetrate, implore, importune,
imprecate, invoke, kneel to, make supplication, obtest,
offer a prayer, petition, plead, plead for, plead with, pray,
pray over, recite the rosary, return thanks, run to, say grace,
supplicate
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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