behest

[ bih-hest ]

/ bɪˈhɛst /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR behest ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a command or directive.

an earnest or strongly worded request.

Words nearby behest

behead, beheld, behemoth, behenic, behenic acid, behest, behind, behind bars, behind closed doors, behind in, behind someone's back

Origin of behest

before 1000; Middle English bihest(e), Old English behǣs promise. See be-, hest

SYNONYMS FOR behest

1 order, bidding, decree, dictate, mandate.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR behest ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for behest

Jackson declined to comment on the case, saying it was at the behest of his lawyer.
Prof: MIT Hospitalized Me For Ferguson Tweets|Nina Strochlic|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The pair were working at the behest of a human-rights organization called the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD).
World Cup Watchdogs Go Missing in Qatar|Nina Strochlic|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I explained I was in the country at the behest of the Department of State, as a kind of cultural ambassador.
GOP Hypocrisy: Outraged Over Benghazi, Silent on Iraq|Jay Parini|May 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or the time he ran and hid—at his mother's behest—during the Battle of the Blackwater.
Game of Thrones’ ‘The Lion and the Rose’: Joffrey’s Demented, Shocking Royal Wedding|Andrew Romano|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The following day, Magnitsky was arrested at the behest of Lt. Col. Kuznetsov.
Moscow’s Long, Corrupt Money Trail|Michael Weiss|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I have disobeyed your behest; but you know not how I have been urged, and my pained soul cannot support the repetition.
The Sylph, Volume I and II|Georgiana Cavendish
Why, he had asked himself, should he run about London at the behest of Séverac Bablon?
The Sins of Sverac Bablon|Sax Rohmer
I convinced him that I had come at the behest of Flora Desimone.
The Place of Honeymoons|Harold MacGrath
Neither of the two frightened women stirred hand or foot to fulfil the master's behest.
A Charming Fellow, Volume III (of 3)|Frances Eleanor Trollope
It would have been useless to tell him so, for he would not have obeyed the behest contained in such an assertion.
Marion Fay|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for behest

behest

/ (bɪˈhɛst) /

noun

an authoritative order or earnest request

Word Origin for behest

Old English behǣs, from behātan; see be-, hest

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

behest

noun

Words related to behest

Words nearby behest

Origin of behest

SYNONYMS FOR behest

Examples from the Web for behest

British Dictionary definitions for behest

noun

Word Origin for behest