implore
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to beg or ask (someone) earnestly (to do something); plead with; beseech
-
to ask earnestly or piteously for; supplicate; beg
to implore someone's mercy
Other Word Forms
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
Implore your cousin, darling Vera Vassilievna, to paint my portrait.
From The Precipice by Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich
Implore peace not of deified thunder clouds but of every man, woman, child thou shalt meet.
From Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie by Van Dyke, John Charles
Shall we pray or curse, Implore or threaten?
From Pan and Æolus: Poems by Musgrove, Charles Hamilton
Safe in his power whose eye discerns afar The secret ambush of a specious prayer; Implore his aid, in his decisions rest, Secure whate'er he gives, he gives the best.
From English Lands Letters and Kings Queen Anne and the Georges by Mitchell, Donald G.
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.
