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require

[ ri-kwahyuhr ]
/ rɪˈkwaɪər /
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See synonyms for: require / required / requires / requiring on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), re·quired, re·quir·ing.
verb (used without object), re·quired, re·quir·ing.
to demand; impose obligation: to do as the law requires.
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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)

synonym study for require

3. See demand.

OTHER WORDS FROM require

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

WHEN TO USE

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

How to use require in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for require

require
/ (rɪˈkwaɪə) /

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 forms of require

requirable, 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 for require

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
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