Synonym Chooser

How is the word adjure distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of adjure are beg, beseech, entreat, implore, importune, and supplicate. While all these words mean "to ask urgently," adjure implies advising as well as pleading.

we were adjured to tell the truth

When can beg be used instead of adjure?

The synonyms beg and adjure are sometimes interchangeable, but beg suggests earnestness or insistence in the asking.

they begged for help

How are the words beseech and implore related as synonyms of adjure?

Both beseech and implore imply a deeply felt anxiety.

I beseech you to have mercy
implored her not to leave him

In what contexts can entreat take the place of adjure?

While in some cases nearly identical to adjure, entreat implies an effort to persuade or to overcome resistance.

entreated me to join them

Where would importune be a reasonable alternative to adjure?

The words importune and adjure can be used in similar contexts, but importune suggests an annoying persistence in trying to break down resistance to a request.

importuning viewers for contributions

When would supplicate be a good substitute for adjure?

While the synonyms supplicate and adjure are close in meaning, supplicate suggests a posture of humility.

with bowed heads they supplicated their Lord

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 adjure Despite the song’s topic, the music is joyful, light, as Carlito adjures Maya in Lingala, the language of Kinshasa and its environs: Listen to a voice calling you in the middle of the night. Nicolas Niarchos, The New Yorker, 26 June 2019 And Congress is adjured by the Fourteenth Amendment to enforce it against the states. WSJ, 25 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adjure
Verb
  • According to Jim Glenn, a lecturer at Yale who advised a student doing cribbage research, the key to making this work was by selectively shrinking the number of outcomes for the computer to search.
    Andrew Montequin, jsonline.com, 29 July 2025
  • Royal protocol advises that George will no longer be allowed to fly with his father, Prince William.
    Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2025
Verb
  • Last week, Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to begin the process of unsealing grand jury materials in the Epstein case.
    Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
  • Suppose your child’s teacher, under the guise of creating a welcoming classroom, instructed the 6-year-olds to choose their own ethnicities.
    DP Opinion, Denver Post, 22 July 2025
Verb
  • Last month state immigration advocates warned that arrests of undocumented immigrants were ramping up in the state, creating anxiety and fear in communities with people taken every day.
    Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 14 July 2025
  • When more than a month’s worth of rain fell in 90 minutes just west of the United Center late Tuesday night, federal weather forecasters warned of possible flash flooding, triggering a chain of events that alerted some Chicago residents about potential danger.
    William Tong, Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • The city has been told the Water and Wastewater Authority should have their standard operational system active at that time, Bell said.
    Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 26 July 2025
  • Popular jewelry designer Kendra Scott plans to marry Zac Brown, Scott told People.
    Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 26 July 2025
Verb
  • Interestingly, rose gardens and life teach us many similar, valuable lessons.
    Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Aug. 2025
  • Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists Most of the religious cases Richard Garnett teaches in his classes at the University of Notre Dame Law School involve smaller religious communities, including Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • After being found not guilty, a judge ordered him committed to the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Saline for a period of at most 60 days.
    Arpan Lobo, Freep.com, 29 July 2025
  • He was sentenced to three years of supervised release, including one year of house arrest and ordered to pay around $800,00 in restitution, court records show.
    Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 28 July 2025
Verb
  • People with diabetes have trouble regulating blood sugar and may be more susceptible to orange juice raising blood sugar, which is why they are often counseled to avoid orange juice.11 However, studies on this subject are contradictory.
    Sarah Bence, Verywell Health, 22 July 2025
  • To get an authoritative answer, Fortune recruited three eminent executive search experts, each of whom has counseled scores of major boards on managing successions.
    Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 22 July 2025
Verb
  • Fastow started by going door to door to dozens of insurance brokers in San Francisco and asking them about their pain points and most time consuming tasks.
    Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
  • He was regularly asked about his access to national defense information, prosecutors said.
    CBS News, CBS News, 14 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Adjure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adjure. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

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