as in supplicant
one who asks earnestly for a favor or gift
didn't like being in the position of a suppliant, having to ask her parents to help her pay the rent on her apartment
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as in prayerful
asking humbly
the suppliant thief pleaded for a second chance
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Recent Examples of suppliant
Teju Cole, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Like other Te Deums, the work is both laudatory and suppliant, petitioning the divine for continued mercy.
—Hannah Edgar, chicagotribune.com, 21 Aug. 2021
It was thought that Betelgeuse was bigger than the orbit of Jupiter in our Solar System, but recent studies suggest that the red suppliant star is about a third less than that at about 750 the radius of our Sun.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 16 June 2021
William pays price for grabbing The reaction of the male to his suppliants varies.
—National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019
Part of the progress, according to Mr. Selee, is a reaction against President Trump’s Mexiphobia, but the underlying influences are long-term and irreversible: Mexico is no longer a feeble suppliant but a potent, necessary partner.
—Felipe Fernández-Armesto, WSJ, 25 June 2018
Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Furious at their alma maters’ embrace of DEI, suppression of free speech, hot-housing antisemitic bigotry, and so much more, college alumni are increasingly organizing and publicly challenging the administrations and suppliant boards of America’s leading universities.
—Jack Fowler, National Review, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
And as happens with the testimonies of the suppliants at the Asclepieion, the stelae ferry the feelings and names of these distant others across the ages to us.
—Teju Cole, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Like other Te Deums, the work is both laudatory and suppliant, petitioning the divine for continued mercy.
—Hannah Edgar, chicagotribune.com, 21 Aug. 2021
It was thought that Betelgeuse was bigger than the orbit of Jupiter in our Solar System, but recent studies suggest that the red suppliant star is about a third less than that at about 750 the radius of our Sun.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 16 June 2021
William pays price for grabbing The reaction of the male to his suppliants varies.
—National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019
Part of the progress, according to Mr. Selee, is a reaction against President Trump’s Mexiphobia, but the underlying influences are long-term and irreversible: Mexico is no longer a feeble suppliant but a potent, necessary partner.
—Felipe Fernández-Armesto, WSJ, 25 June 2018
Adjective
Both are comfortable, however, with a weakened Iran that does their bidding, offers better deals, and becomes a more suppliant instrument of their regional ambitions.
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Furious at their alma maters’ embrace of DEI, suppression of free speech, hot-housing antisemitic bigotry, and so much more, college alumni are increasingly organizing and publicly challenging the administrations and suppliant boards of America’s leading universities.
—Jack Fowler, National Review, 28 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suppliant
Noun
-
The advisee may present herself as a supplicant but end up an aggressor, demanding and scornful.—
Merve Emre,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
-
There have been many explanations for the blowup, from Zelensky’s refusal to play the role of supplicant, to Trump’s outrage that Zelensky wore military-style fatigues in front of the television cameras, to the evergreen conspiracy theory that Trump is being blackmailed by Vladimir Putin.—
George Pendle,
airmail.news,
8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
After prayerful reflection and discussion, our team, alongside our Board of Directors, has made the decision to move in a different direction from the band for this year’s festival.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
24 June 2025
-
The conclave is initiated following the death or resignation of a pope and is designed to ensure a prayerful and deliberate decision.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The beggars, widows, and families with sick relatives who once made a pilgrimage to the gates of the parliament building in the Green Zone to beg lawmakers for help are now barred from entry.—
Ned Parker,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Feb. 2012
-
All the beggars at the intersection of Lee Road and the off-ramp of I-4 are completely out of hand.—
Ticked Off,
Orlando Sentinel,
18 July 2024
Noun
-
If not for our conclusion that jurisdiction lies in the Eastern District of Virginia, that deliberate choice would have deprived the petitioner of any meaningful opportunity to contest his detention prior to removal to a distant jurisdiction.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 July 2025
-
The Hamilton County Board of Elections late Friday certified that petitioners had collected enough valid signatures for the November ballot, according to Raquel Burgos, deputy director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections.—
Sydney Franklin,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
The group filed a petition for a referendum with the Cincinnati city solicitor's office to repeal rezoning for the project approved by City Council on April 23, according to Jeffrey Levine, an attorney representing the neighborhood council.—
Randy Tucker,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
-
David Pascoe, solicitor of the First Judicial Circuit in the state's Lowcountry, welcomes the support from the federal government.—
Kristin Wright,
NPR,
25 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Asking the requester to prioritize the new task may prompt them to reconsider who should take it on.—
Kim Elsesser,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
-
Then, the nodes return that content to the requester by retracing the same path [green arrows].—
Glenn Edens,
IEEE Spectrum,
23 Mar. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Suppliant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suppliant. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
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