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beseech

[bih-seech]
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verb (used with object), be·sought or be·seeched, be·seech·ing.

to implore urgently: They besought him to go at once.
to beg eagerly for; solicit.

verb (used without object), be·sought or be·seeched, be·seech·ing.

to make urgent appeal: Earnestly did I beseech, but to no avail.

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RELATED WORDS

implore, sue, invoke, pray, importune, entreat, crave, solicit, plead, ask, supplicate, appeal, adjure, petition

Nearby words

  1. besant, annie,
  2. besant, sir walter,
  3. besançon,
  4. bescreen,
  5. bescribble,
  6. beseeching,
  7. beseem,
  8. beseeming,
  9. beseleel,
  10. beset

Origin of beseech

before 1100; Middle English bisechen, Old English besēcan. See be-, seek
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for beseech

British Dictionary definitions for beseech

beseech

verb -seeches, -seeching, -sought or -seeched

(tr) to ask (someone) earnestly (to do something or for something); beg
Derived Formsbeseecher, nounbeseeching, adjectivebeseechingly, adverb

Word Origin for beseech

C12: see be-, seek; related to Old Frisian besēka
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
Word Origin and History for beseech

beseech

v.

late 12c., bisecen "to beseech, beg urgently," from be- + Middle English secen "to seek" (see seek). German cognate besuchen is merely "to visit." Related: Besought; beseeching.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper