as in prayerful
asking humbly
a pleading husband seeking forgiveness once again from his long-suffering wife
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in plea
an earnest request
coldhearted tourists pointedly ignoring the pleadings of the city's many street urchins
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in arguing
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pleading
Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
In November, Johnson, fed up with McNamara’s disenchantment and his pleadings for a policy shift toward negotiations, announced that the defense secretary would depart the administration to lead the World Bank—in effect, firing him.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Dan Reilly, Vulture, 6 Feb. 2026
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on Sunday in Arizona after not showing up for church, and her family is pleading for her return.
—Sarah Lynch Baldwin, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pleading
Noun
Savannah and her family also released a tearful video pleading for Nancy's return.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
In November, Johnson, fed up with McNamara’s disenchantment and his pleadings for a policy shift toward negotiations, announced that the defense secretary would depart the administration to lead the World Bank—in effect, firing him.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Verb
On February 4, Savannah and her elder siblings, Annie and Camron, posted a video to Instagram, tearfully pleading for information about the whereabouts of their mother, whose husband, Charles, passed away in 1988.
—Dan Reilly, Vulture, 6 Feb. 2026
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on Sunday in Arizona after not showing up for church, and her family is pleading for her return.
—Sarah Lynch Baldwin, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pleading
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pleading
Adjective
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The Sagrada Família was founded as an expiatory church, meaning that it would be financed by prayerful donations from people atoning for their sins.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Pärt’s formulas, born out of long, prayerful periods with sacred texts, offer beauty in the warmth and friction of relationships: melody and tintinnabuli, word and the limits of language, sounds and silence.—
Jeffers Engelhardt,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In the days following her abduction, the NBC anchor and her siblings have issued various emotional pleas for her return, offering to pay after unverified ransom notes were sent to several media organizations.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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Prosecutors had earlier offered Thompson an 18-year plea deal to spare the victim from testifying at trial, according to a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.—
Monroe Trombly,
Louisville Courier Journal,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Generally, the judges who’ve released detainees say the federal government is wrongly arguing that a statute that historically applied to migrants caught at the border can be applied to anyone seeking to gain legal status to remain in the United States.—
Cristóbal Reyes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
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In 2014, the New York Times published a six-part series arguing for a repeal on the federal marijuana ban, comparing the government’s treatment of cannabis to the prohibition on alcohol in the 1920s.—
Elaine Mallon,
Baltimore Sun,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Violators can be punished with fines up to $500 and three months in jail under one anti-begging law and with fines starting at up to $100 and 10 days in jail under a law against soliciting contributions from people in cars.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This dynamic has produced a range of figures, from the late Sathya Sai Baba, who claimed to perform miracles, to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, whose appeal lies in his widely popular Art of Living Foundation, which offers yoga and spiritual advice.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
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Savannah Guthrie opened the family’s plea by thanking supporters for their prayers before describing her mother as the heart of their family and making a direct appeal for contact, stressing Nancy Guthrie’s fragile health and urgent need for medication.—
Adam Sabes , Michael Ruiz , Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Sophie decides not to, reasoning that Benedict is only looking for the Lady in Silver, who’s a fantasy.—
Olivia Singh,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The next phase in our work involves validating the framework with extensive testing, measuring how metacognitive monitoring improves performance across diverse tasks, and extending the framework to start reasoning about reasoning, or metareasoning.—
Ricky J. Sethi,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Rudzena and his church Good Shepherd New York, which Savannah Guthrie attended and Nancy joined online from Arizona, held a prayer vigil for Savannah Guthrie's mother last week.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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In her video Monday, Savannah thanked fans and followers for their prayers.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That could be a make-or-break stretch for the Sharks, with three games against non-playoff-contending teams that could be especially important for keeping the roster together.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
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One of only three teams in the league without a deadline move, with the highly competitive and contending San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets being the others.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pleading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pleading. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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