require

[ri-kwahyuhr]

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verb (used with object), re·quired, re·quir·ing.

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.

to impose need or occasion for; make necessary or indispensable: The work required infinite patience.

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.

Chiefly British. to desire; wish to have: Will you require tea at four o'clock?

verb (used without object), re·quired, re·quir·ing.

to demand; impose obligation: to do as the law requires.

Nearby words

Origin of require

1300–50; Middle English requiren < Latin requīrere, equivalent to re- re- + -quīrere, combining form of quaerere to seek, search for (cf. quest)

SYNONYMS FOR require

6. obligate, necessitate.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR require ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR require

3. forgo.

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Related forms

re·quir·a·ble, adjectivere·quir·er, nounnon·re·quir·a·ble, adjectivepre·re·quire, verb (used with object), pre·re·quired, pre·re·quir·ing.

qua·si-re·quired, adjectiveun·re·quired, adjective

Synonym study

1. See lack. 3. See demand.

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

Examples from the Web for require

That makes New York the ninth state to require such coverage.
The Insurance Company Promised a Gender Reassignment. Then They Made a Mistake.|James Joiner|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bohac said the bill does not require anyone to say “Merry Christmas” if they are not up for it.
A Field General in the War on Christmas|David Freedlander|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Another step is to require a lawyer or advocate present during questioning of people with ID.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You might think that the reason Medicaid does not require coverage of HCBS is because institutional care is cheaper.
Medicaid Will Give You Money for At-Home Care, but You Might Wait Years|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

As of July 2014, only 22 states and the District of Columbia require sex education to be taught in public schools.
The Next Frontier of Sex Ed: How Porn Twists Teens’ Brains|Aurora Snow|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All his proceedings certainly seem to require an opposite construction, and to contemplate his own leadership.'
The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Vol. 1 (of 3)|John Morley
Unfortunately, corn-meal does not lend itself to the preparation of a dry bread having sufficient consistency to require chewing.
Health on the Farm|H. F. Harris
You require, not only a certain amount of sleep, but to take that sleep before the body and mind are at all overtaxed.
Advice to Singers|Frederick James Crowest
Thank you, Marton; should I require your assistance I will write.
The Pagan's Cup|Fergus Hume
They may be shifted on as the growth of the several plants may require.
The Culture of Vegetables and Flowers From Seeds and Roots, 16th Edition|Sutton and Sons

British Dictionary definitions for require

require

verb (mainly tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive)

to have need of; depend upon; want

to impose as a necessity; make necessarythis 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 commandto require someone to account for his actions

Derived Formsrequirable, adjectiverequirer, noun

Word Origin for require

C14: from Old French requerre, from Vulgar Latin requaerere (unattested) to seek after, from Latin requīrere to seek to know, but also influenced by quaerere to seek

usage

The use of require to as in I require to see the manager or you require to complete a special form is thought by many people to be incorrect: I need to see the manager; you are required to complete a special form

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 require

require

late 14c., "to ask a question, inquire," from Old French requerre "seek, procure; beg, ask, petition; demand," from Vulgar Latin *requaerere, from Latin requirere "seek to know, ask," from re-, here perhaps meaning "repeatedly" (see re-), + quaerere "ask, seek" (see query (v.)).

The original sense of this word has been taken over by request (v.). Sense of "demand (someone) to do (something)" is from 1751, via the notion of "to ask for imperatively, or as a right" (late 14c.). Related: Required; requiring.

require

verb (used with object), re·quired, re·quir·ing.

verb (used without object), re·quired, re·quir·ing.

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Origin of require

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for require

require

verb (mainly tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive)

Word Origin for require

usage

require