suppliant

[suhp-lee-uhnt]

noun

1. a person who supplicates; petitioner.

adjective

1. supplicating.

2. expressive of supplication, as words, actions, etc.

suppliant

/ ˈsʌplɪənt /

adjective

1. expressing entreaty or supplication

noun

1. another word for supplicant

Other Word Forms

• suppliantly adverb
• suppliance noun
• suppliantness noun
• unsuppliant adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of suppliant¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French, present participle of supplier < Latin supplicāre to beseech, supplicate. See -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of suppliant¹

C15: from French supplier to beseech, from Latin supplicāre to kneel in entreaty; see _supple

Example Sentences

And when at last I opened my eyes the silence which had enfolded me had given place to a pervasive murmur, the sound from the suppliant lips and beseeching throats of the multitude.

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“Your mission will be hard this year,” wrote Anne-Marie, another adult suppliant.

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“I am a suppliant at your knees, O Queen,” he said.

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A priest flocked by suppliant children entreats Oedipus, renowned for his mental prowess, to find the answer that will rescue the city.

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Shooting it frontally, Greene looked up at the timeworn face from the subordinate vantage point of a suppliant.

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