beseech

[ bih-seech ]

/ bɪˈsitʃ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR beseech ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

besague, besant, besançon, bescreen, bescribble, beseech, beseem, beseleel, beset, besetting, beshow

Origin of beseech

before 1100; Middle English bisechen, Old English besēcan. See be-, seek

SYNONYMS FOR beseech

1 pray, petition, supplicate, adjure.

1, 2 entreat, importune.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR beseech ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

be·seech·er, nounbe·seech·ing·ly, adverbbe·seech·ing·ness, nounun·be·seech·ing, adjective

un·be·seech·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for beseech

On Yom Kippur, Jewish communities fast, confess their sins in the collective “we,” and beseech God for forgiveness.
Israeli High Court Judges Let the Oppressed Go Free at Yom Kippur|Joshua Bloom|September 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Proceed, I beseech you, I am most anxious to know of the welfare of this Arderne.
William Shakespeare as he lived.|Henry Curling
Let me open my heart, I beseech you—there—even for the sake of those old days, if you are not willing to forget them.
Smoke|Turgenev Ivan Sergeevich
Nay, blame us not that we came to beseech the Gods when we heard the hailstorm of war rattling on the gates.
Stories of the Old world|Alfred John Church

"I beseech your pardon if I have detained you, sweet lady," said he, with much courtesy.
Judith Shakespeare|William Black
And give me cause, I beseech you, to call you my compassionating friend.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)|Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for beseech

beseech

/ (bɪˈsiːtʃ) /

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

(tr) to ask (someone) earnestly (to do something or for something); beg

Derived Forms

beseecher, 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