bespeak
verb (used with object)
to ask for in advance.
have bespoken
-
present perfectof bespeak.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
"You should have bespoken me at the proper time to attend your wife.—Besides, there'll be no getting along the road to-night."
From Australia Felix by Henry Handel Richardson
Splendid cushions embroidered with gold, woven carpets, gilded censers, would elsewhere have bespoken opulence and respectability, but here seemed only the booty of a robber band.
From The Oriental Story Book A Collection of Tales by G. P. (George Payn) Quackenbos
I have bespoken fair Peggy for mine, and I am sure Mobray, who is not yet returned, will ask you.
From Janice Meredith by Paul Leicester Ford
He spoke to hearts already conscious; and Rose said petulantly, “The ball will, of course, be a failure; we have bespoken failure by anticipating it.”
From Was It Right to Forgive? A Domestic Romance by Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
You have bespoken your Government in advance, and whether it suits you or not, whether it works well or works ill, whether it is what you want or not, by law you must keep it.
From The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot
