require

American  

[ri-kwahyuhr] / rɪˈkwaɪər /

verb (used with object)

required, requiring

1. to have need of; need.

   He requires medical care.

2. to call on authoritatively; order or enjoin to do something.

   to require an agent to account for money spent.

3. to ask for authoritatively or imperatively; demand.

   Antonyms:

   forgo

4. to impose need or occasion for; make necessary or indispensable.

   The work required infinite patience.

5. to call for or exact as obligatory; ordain.

   The law requires annual income-tax returns.

6. to place under an obligation or necessity.

   The situation requires me to take immediate action.

   Synonyms:

   necessitate, obligate

7. Chiefly British. to desire; wish to have.

   Will you require tea at four o'clock?

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verb (used without object)

required, requiring

1. to demand; impose obligation.

   to do as the law requires.

require British  

/ rɪˈkwaɪə /

verb

1. to have need of; depend upon; want

2. to impose as a necessity; make necessary

   this work requires precision

3. (also intr) to make formal request (for); insist upon or demand, esp as an obligation

4. to call upon or oblige (a person) authoritatively; order or command

   to require someone to account for his actions

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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”; cf. quest ( def. )

Explanation

Require means to need. You require food, water, and shelter to live, but do you really require that new pair of high-fashion shoes? The verb require comes from Latin root words re-, meaning "repeatedly," and quaerere, meaning "to ask." The word lost the sense of asking and came to mean needing, demanding, or insisting upon something. The law requires that you attend school until you're sixteen; your parents probably require you to finish high school. If you're a waiter in a fancy restaurant and the food has been served, you might ask if your customers require anything else.

Example Sentences

At the same time, they cautioned that bringing the same strategy to places outside the Mediterranean region, including the U.S., would require more than individual willpower.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

But that would require a complete ideological change in their bosses’ minds.

From Slate • May 19, 2026

While Putin's visit is not expected to receive the same pomp as Trump's, "the Xi-Putin relationship does not require that kind of performative reassurance", said Patricia Kim from the Brookings Institution in Washington.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

Under his administration, he said, he would require treatment to receive “city-funded assistance” and reserve long-term housing for people who are sober.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Changing economics and demographics require flexibility and adaptability.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• call for
• cause
• compel
• demand
• expect
• instruct
• involve
• obligate
• oblige
• order
• request
• take