pleading 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of pleadingnext
as in prayerful
asking humbly a pleading husband seeking forgiveness once again from his long-suffering wife

Synonyms & Similar Words

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pleading

2 of 3

noun

ˈplē-diŋ How to pronounce pleading (audio)
as in plea
an earnest request coldhearted tourists pointedly ignoring the pleadings of the city's many street urchins

Synonyms & Similar Words

pleading

3 of 3

verb

present participle of plead
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pleading
Noun
In the picture, James sports a Cavs jersey from his playing days near his hometown alongside the pleading caption. — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026 Friends and teammates had also made a video pleading for more machinery. — Anabella González, CNN Money, 29 June 2026
Verb
Reiner has been held in custody without bail since pleading not guilty to the murders in February. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026 Earlier in 2026, LaPlaca was sentenced to three years in a diversionary program for first-time offenders after pleading guilty to driving under the influence and a fourth-degree child abuse charge. — Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pleading
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pleading
  1. prayerful
  2. plea
  3. arguing
  4. begging
  5. appeal
  6. reasoning
  7. prayer
  8. contending
Adjective
  • Tigua dancers of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo performed a prayerful ceremony traditional before a hunt.
    — Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 28 June 2026
  • That’s the prayerful explanation for the nonsense that spouted this week from the leaders of a football conference that hopes to grow up and be the Big Ten someday.
    — Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 29 May 2026
Definition of prayerful
Noun
  • The old gods must have heard her plea, because all of a sudden, there’s sunshine in Harrenhal.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The government pushed forward with its exit policy despite pleas to hold off from industry associations who said their members need the Haitian workers to help sustain operations.
    — David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of plea
Verb
  • Murdaugh’s defense quickly responded on Thursday, arguing none of the alternative locations proposed by the state meet their criteria.
    — Devon M. Sayers, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Kestou filed a motion last December to dismiss the charge, arguing the fire, not his storage of the canisters, caused Salter's death.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of arguing
Adjective
  • 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
Definition of begging
Noun
  • He was sentenced to death in 1986, won an appeal for a new sentencing hearing and was again sentenced to death in 1989.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The mish-mash of different stands, for instance, at Harrogate Town’s Wetherby Road — now no longer part of the ’92’, following their relegation in May— gave the place a certain appeal, even though the National League felt a more natural home.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of appeal
Verb
  • Engineers like me hold several spatial relationships in their minds at once, reasoning about where things sit relative to one another across scales ranging from a city block to a whole watershed.
    — Hatim Sharif, The Conversation, 6 Aug. 2026
  • This line of attack came from Mythos reasoning that the repository maintainer could be an AI coding agent such as Claude Code.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of reasoning
Noun
  • Thank you for your messages, your prayers, your encouragement, and for standing beside our team throughout these past weeks.
    — Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Later winter sunrises could make morning prayers more difficult, particularly in parts of the Midwest and Mountain West.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of prayer
Verb
  • In addition to contending for national titles, the men will compete for spots on the 2026 World Championship Team.
    — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Union officials and House Democrats close to labor dismissed Welch’s claim, contending Benton had no real influence over organized labor’s decisions.
    — Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of contending

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Cite this Entry

“Pleading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pleading. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pleading

Nglish: Translation of pleading for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pleading

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