require

[ri-kwahyuhr]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR require ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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)

Related formsre·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

Synonyms for require

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR require ON THESAURUS.COM

6. obligate, necessitate.

Synonym study

1. See lack. 3. See demand.

Antonyms for require

3. forgo.

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

Related Words for require

lack, oblige, compel, request, involve, instruct, obligate, take, demand, cause, order, expect, desire, wish, crave, miss, claim, beseech, entail, bid

Examples from the Web for require

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of require

This may make a good depot if we require to stay long in this neighbourhood.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
But while we do justice to others, we must require that justice be done to us.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
They may walk, to be sure, but it is exactly the inducement to walk that they require.
Sunday under Three Heads
Charles Dickens
To be so particular as you require in subjects of conversation, it is impossible to be short.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
It will require sacrifice, but it can be done, and done fairly.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various

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

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.