require
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to have need of; need.
He requires medical care.
-
to call on authoritatively; order or enjoin to do something.
to require an agent to account for money spent.
-
to ask for authoritatively or imperatively; demand.
- Antonyms:
- forgo
-
to impose need or occasion for; make necessary or indispensable.
The work required infinite patience.
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to call for or exact as obligatory; ordain.
The law requires annual income-tax returns.
-
to place under an obligation or necessity.
The situation requires me to take immediate action.
- Synonyms:
- necessitate, obligate
-
Chiefly British. to desire; wish to have.
Will you require tea at four o'clock?
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to have need of; depend upon; want
-
to impose as a necessity; make necessary
this work requires precision
-
(also intr) to make formal request (for); insist upon or demand, esp as an obligation
-
to call upon or oblige (a person) authoritatively; order or command
to require someone to account for his actions
Usage
What are other ways to say require? To require something is to have a need for it or to ask for it authoritatively. How does require compare to synonyms want, need, and lack? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Related Words
See demand.
Other Word Forms
- nonrequirable adjective
- prerequire verb (used with object)
- quasi-required adjective
- requirable adjective
- requirer noun
- unrequired adjective
Etymology
Origin of require
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English requiren, from Latin requīrere, equivalent to re- re- ( def. ) + -quīrere, combining form of quaerere “to seek, search for”; quest ( def. )
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.
Teamsters California is leading a legislative effort to require a human operator to be present in autonomous commercial delivery vehicles at all times.
From Los Angeles Times
Producing another clutch will require them to start from square one.
From Los Angeles Times
It’s so hard finding the right balance between listening and talking, but I know that this moment, right now, is one that requires me to speak.
From Literature
The US has already hiked fees at national parks for foreign visitors and is considering requiring visitors from dozens of countries, including the UK, to submit five-year social media histories.
From BBC
"That is the game-changing technology we need to establish the infrastructure and systems required for a permanent human presence on the Moon and take the U.S. to Mars and beyond."
From Science Daily
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.
