implore
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to beg or ask (someone) earnestly (to do something); plead with; beseech
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to ask earnestly or piteously for; supplicate; beg
to implore someone's mercy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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implorableadjective
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implorernoun
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imploratoryadjective
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implorationnoun
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imploringlyadverb
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unimploredadjective
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unimplorableadjective
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imploringnessnoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has imploredperfect 3rd person singular
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have imploredperfect
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are imploringprogressive
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is imploringprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been imploringperfect progressive
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has been imploringperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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imploressingular 3rd person
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am imploringprogressive 1st person singular
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imploringparticiple
Past
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had imploredperfect
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was imploringprogressive singular
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were imploringprogressive plural
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had been imploringperfect progressive
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imploredsimple
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imploredparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of implore
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin implōrāre, equivalent to im- “in” ( see im- 1) + plōrāre “to lament”
Explanation
You might ask your friend for a loan if you're short a few bucks, but if the bank is about to foreclose on your house you'll implore your friend for the money, desperately begging for the cash so you can keep your house. The word implore is often used to describe an urgent request made out of desperation. A man on death row might implore the governor to grant him a last-minute pardon. In the old days, you might have heard the word spoken by someone with lousy aim at a duel — "I implore you not to shoot me, my good man!" Today, this first-person use of the word sounds old-fashioned, although you might still hear it in a period drama.
Vocabulary lists containing implore
The Diary of Anne Frank
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List 2
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"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Implore him to call the bank to freeze the account.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026
And from that Store of Mercy Heaven has given you, Implore you wou'd dispense a little here.
From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume II by Summers, Montague
He went to every work of creation and said, "Implore mercy for me."
From The Legends of the Jews — Volume 3 by Radin, Paul
If by thy fiat he cannot escape the grave, Implore of Decius' grace the life thou canst not save.
From Polyeucte by Constable, Thomas
Implore your wife and child to be careful.”
From The Rajah of Dah by Fenn, George Manville
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
