as in requesting
to persuade someone to give you (something) for free
He spent his time trying to cadge drinks from the customers. She cadged money from her sister.
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cadging
Verb
-
Bradwell had commemorated his onboarding by requesting a cube from Claudius—not of tungsten but of bevelled glass.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026 -
The two climbers, 47 and 50 years old, were requesting assistance, saying they were incapacitated and unable to continue their route.—
Jennifer McRae,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
First there was Norwegian’s Sturla Holm Lægreid confessing to cheating on his girlfriend during a live interview after winning the bronze medal and tearfully begging her to come back (shockingly, humiliating his ex on national television didn’t work).—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
-
The current crop, by contrast, has been begging visitors to crawl back into the light.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Guevara and two colleagues, then-detectives Michael Mason and Ernest Halvorson, then orchestrated a frame-up by coercing one witness to identify Rios by beating him with a phone book and flashlight, and another by threatening to charge him with obstruction, according to the plaintiffs’ allegations.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
-
However, this kind of rethinking of coverage is not about coercing people to accept worse care in exchange for money.—
Jared Rhoads,
STAT,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In her remarks, academy President Lynette Howell Taylor acknowledged the questions many nominees have been asking themselves amid industry contraction, political volatility and global conflict.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
In addition to asking that the subpoena be quashed, Wexner sought a protective order that would have barred plaintiffs from questioning him in the case.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Meanwhile, the bloom of illicit pot grows on private land has been demanding California’s attention, a growing problem since voters legalized cannabis in 2016.—
Rachel Becker,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Soon after, the woman’s grandson, who owned a construction company, started to receive messages demanding millions for her release.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In their request for a rehearing, the nonprofits said their members and communities were unfairly being forced to pay to keep a costly and unreliable plant operating and that the department didn't even comply with the law requiring it to show why this was the best alternative.—
MATTHEW DALY,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Delays and mistreatment reported Over the first four days of the crossing’s opening, just 36 Palestinians requiring medical care were allowed to leave for Egypt, plus 62 companions, according to United Nations data.—
Samy Magdy,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
On top of that, Nico is also, quite obviously, just mooching off/clinging to Mindy because he got cut off by his family.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
In the current session the GOP think tank is conjuring ways to cut property tax, a move that will cripple county and city government’s capacity to provide services to their constituents.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 Feb. 2026
-
This song from West Coast singer-songwriter Odin Coleman takes a different sonic approach, conjuring centuries-old Appalachian traditions in this banjo broadside.—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
9 Jan. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Cadging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cadging. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
