as in to argue
to state (something) as a reason in support of or against something under consideration
can I plead temporary insanity for having made that foolish decision?
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plead
Prats previously pleaded guilty last year to Negligent Death of an At-Risk Person, a Class 4 felony.
—
Logan Smith, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
Tabitha Frank, a Hartford mother whose toddler fell out of a window and died in 2023, pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this week and was sentenced to five years of probation.
—Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2026
Moynihan was initially charged with a felony count of making terrorist threats, but instead pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 7 Feb. 2026
He was given federal immunity in return for pleading guilty in state court to two solicitation charges.
—Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for plead
Logan Smith, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
Tabitha Frank, a Hartford mother whose toddler fell out of a window and died in 2023, pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this week and was sentenced to five years of probation.
—Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2026
Moynihan was initially charged with a felony count of making terrorist threats, but instead pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 7 Feb. 2026
He was given federal immunity in return for pleading guilty in state court to two solicitation charges.
—Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for plead
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plead
Verb
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Proponents of banning firms such as Blackstone from buying single-family homes, many of whom are on the Left and populist Right, argue that those investors are crowding out the market for homebuyers.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Feb. 2026
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Why pigeons can outperform drones in some missions The startup argued that pigeons offer practical advantages over conventional drones in specific environments.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The department has made public millions of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act but has withheld millions more that officials contend would reveal the names of people who accused Epstein of abuse or cover the department's legal analysis of the case.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
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But multiple former offensive linemen contended Campbell’s Super Bowl struggles were not due to his arms.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Judges could reason the NCAA interpreting rules to allow pros from some leagues, but not others, is hypocritical and arbitrary.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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World models allow systems to build a task specific representation of reality, allowing systems to reason over what matters instead of recomputing understanding from scratch at every step.—
Abhas Ricky,
Fortune,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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An undisclosed amount of funds had disappeared, and the unidentified brother was convinced McBride took it, the report read.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
14 Feb. 2026
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The report warned that Americans should be extremely suspicious of people on the internet trying to convince them to apply for HELOCs.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Also, the People of our Country are insisting on Citizenship, and No Mail-In Ballots, with exceptions for Military, Disability, Illness, or Travel.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
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Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Demand independent confirmation of whatever statements are asserted as facts.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Feb. 2026
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Going to the Super Bowl is about participating in monoculture while simultaneously asserting your singularity.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plead. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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