solicitation
Americannoun
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the act of soliciting.
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entreaty, urging, or importunity; a petition or request.
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enticement or allurement.
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Law.
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the crime of asking another to commit or to aid in a crime.
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the act of a prostitute soliciting in a public place.
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of solicitation
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin sollicitātiōn-, stem of sollicitātiō, from sollicitāt(us) “agitated, worried” (past participle of sollicitāre “to excite, agitate, worry”; see solicit) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Solicitation is a request for something, usually money. If you buy a fancy new house, expect a phone call from the local charity with a solicitation for a donation. Solicitation comes from solicit, which means "to request," or "to entreat." So solicitation is the act of requesting. There are three kinds of solicitation. One is asking for money, like when someone goes door-to-door trying to collect money for a cause. In law, solicitation means encouraging someone to commit a crime. Solicitation can also mean making a plea to someone with power to grant a request or favor, like your solicitation to the traffic judge to dismiss your ticket.
Vocabulary lists containing solicitation
Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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The Awakening
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 2–8, 2021
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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.
Or click onto the attorney general’s website and fumble around for the “Summary of Charitable Solicitation Campaigns Conducted by Professional Fundraisers.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2021
Solicitation season this year is lots more interesting than it was last year for those of us who are 72 and older and own individual retirement accounts.
From Washington Post • Oct. 28, 2021
Solicitation season is a great time to start thinking about them.
From Washington Post • Oct. 28, 2021
Solicitation is when you get someone else to commit a crime, and misprision is failing to report a crime.
From Slate • Jun. 10, 2020
Henry made himself master of Dreux without a blow: he laid siege to Meaux, at the Solicitation of the Parisians, who were much incommoded by the garrison of that place.
From The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part B. From Henry III. to Richard III. by Hume, David
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.
