as in begging
to make a request to (someone) in an earnest or urgent manner
petitioned the judge to be excused from jury duty for financial hardship
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Recent Examples of petitioning
Now the family is petitioning the Scottish government for a change in medical guidelines.
—
Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
Three of those worked on criminal cases, and the other three were civil litigators who have been grappling with a deluge of requests by attorneys who are petitioning judges to release their immigrant clients from detention facilities.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) addressed a letter from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) petitioning for a spot in the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games for American skeleton veteran Katie Uhlaender.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 26 Jan. 2026
The chapter, East Chicago 3046-B, resurrected itself in November 2024 after nearly a decade by petitioning the state NAACP and was regranted its charter in February, its president, Benita White Arnold, said.
—Michelle L. Quinn, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
About 1,000 companies are petitioning the court to scrap the tariffs.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
Jelly Roll, who began petitioning the Board of Parole last October, was hoping for a pardon to loosen the restrictions that came with his convictions.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 18 Dec. 2025
The artist had begun petitioning the Board of Parole last October, the fifth anniversary of when his last sentence expired.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2025
Chambliss is petitioning the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility, so his availability for next season is a maybe.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Dec. 2025
Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
Three of those worked on criminal cases, and the other three were civil litigators who have been grappling with a deluge of requests by attorneys who are petitioning judges to release their immigrant clients from detention facilities.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) addressed a letter from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) petitioning for a spot in the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games for American skeleton veteran Katie Uhlaender.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 26 Jan. 2026
The chapter, East Chicago 3046-B, resurrected itself in November 2024 after nearly a decade by petitioning the state NAACP and was regranted its charter in February, its president, Benita White Arnold, said.
—Michelle L. Quinn, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
About 1,000 companies are petitioning the court to scrap the tariffs.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
Jelly Roll, who began petitioning the Board of Parole last October, was hoping for a pardon to loosen the restrictions that came with his convictions.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 18 Dec. 2025
The artist had begun petitioning the Board of Parole last October, the fifth anniversary of when his last sentence expired.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2025
Chambliss is petitioning the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility, so his availability for next season is a maybe.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petitioning
begging
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
Cite this Entry
“Petitioning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petitioning. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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