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entreat

verb

Simple meaning

Ask for or request earnestly.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ehntreet

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɛntˈɹit

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Ask for or request earnestly

  2. transitive

    To ask earnestly or beg for (something, such as a benefit or favour).

  3. transitive

    To earnestly ask or beg (someone); to beseech, to implore.

  4. intransitive

    Often followed by about, for, or of: to discuss or negotiate, especially in order to reach a settlement.

  5. transitive

    To discuss or negotiate (something); also, to discuss or negotiate with (someone).

  6. intransitive

    Sometimes followed by of or upon: to give an account or description of a matter; to deal with.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Ask for or request earnestly

Used this way, entreat is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • adjure , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

earnestly entreattherefore entreathumbly entreatentreat godnow entreat

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.