supplicate
Americanverb (used without object)
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supplicates,
present (3rd person singular)
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supplicated,
past participle, past
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supplicating
present participle
verb
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to make a humble request to (someone); plead
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(tr) to ask for or seek humbly
Synonym Usage
See appeal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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presupplicateverb (used with object)
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nonsupplicatingadjective
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supplicatoryadjective
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unsupplicatedadjective
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unsupplicatingadjective
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supplicatinglyadverb
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unsupplicatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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supplicatesimple
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supplicatessimple
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have supplicatedperfect
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has supplicatedperfect
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am supplicatingprogressive
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are supplicatingprogressive
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is supplicatingprogressive
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have been supplicatingperfect progressive
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has been supplicatingperfect progressive
Past
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supplicatedsimple
-
had supplicatedperfect
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was supplicatingprogressive
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were supplicatingprogressive
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had been supplicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of supplicate
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin supplicātus “knelt,” past participle of supplicāre “to kneel,” from supplic-, stem of supplex “submissive, suppliant” ( see supple) + -āre, infinitive verb suffix
Explanation
If you don’t get the grade you were hoping for on your paper, you could try to rewrite it, or you could meet with your teacher and supplicate. Your humble requests for an ‘A’ may or may not work. This verb is derived from the Latin supplicare, “to kneel.” People often supplicate to God for help in the form of prayer, or supplicate to a judge for a lesser sentence. It is usually an earnest petition made to an authority figure and can be perfectly respectable or can be somewhat pitiful, like begging.
Vocabulary lists containing supplicate
Instead of "Said": Words for Asking and Offering
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Namo Buddha, I supplicate the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the three times and ten directions to bestow Their blessings upon Your Majesties.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2023
“All the statements from Kirill are constantly, ‘Let’s do things peacefully, lets pray and supplicate.’
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2022
And if it would help to fall at her feet and supplicate myself, I would.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 28, 2019
To restore their good standing, executives must supplicate, with minimal guidance from the party-state.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 11, 2019
Seek rather to attain an honourable place among your fellow-citizens, and their respect and love—by activity, unblemished character, and a virtuous—life, than to way-lay or supplicate an indolent and hateful benefice.
From John Ronge: The Holy Coat Of Treves New German-Catholic Chruch by Anonymous
A Trojan prince, seized by Achilles in the battle, falls at his feet, and in moving terms supplicates for life.
From The Works of Samuel Johnson, Volume 04 The Adventurer; The Idler by Samuel Johnson
Condescend to reflect that the uncle demands, the nephew supplicates.
From The Empire of Russia by John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott
Therefore, this prisoner implores and supplicates at dawn, seeking strength and confirmation for the beloved of that town.
From Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas by `Abdu'l-Bahá
He supplicates not for his house and his family, not for Zion dismantled, not for the restoration of the Temple, not for the advent of the Messiah, not for respite from suffering.
From Jewish Literature and Other Essays by Gustav Karpeles
Sorrow in any shape, should meet with pity; but when it supplicates in female form, we dry its tears, nor wait to ask what caus'd them!
From The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 6, June 1810 by S. C. (Stephen Cullen) Carpenter
A lama supplicated the heavenly waters by burning incense before an altar for three days.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Brain,” she supplicated faintly, “Brain, do you hear me?”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Mr. Roberts's wife and children went before congress and on their knees supplicated for mercy, but in vain.
From The Loyalists of Massachusetts And the Other Side of the American Revolution by James H. Stark
We have petitioned, we have remonstrated, we have supplicated, we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.
From Recitations for the Social Circle by James Clarence Harvey
That the king shall be supplicated to obtain a bull from the Pope to ratify these measures.
From The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand VII. by Juan Antonio Llorente
But this year, the vibe once again seems to have shifted—this time, away from supplicating the reelected president.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
From noon to midnight, it is alive with the buzz of crowded restaurants, supplicating panhandlers, weaving motorcycles, and pushy vendors.
From The Verge ● Aug. 11, 2022
As I do them, moving my legs one way, my arms the other, bending and supplicating my spine, I can hear my sacral joints clicking, realigning, settling themselves, speaking to me.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 6, 2018
Mr. Iannucci is particularly good at the theater of sycophancy and at all the ways in which supplicating faces, hands and bodies can quiver in fear and with a terrible love.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2018
When Mariam had seen her, Fariba said, she had asked in a high, supplicating voice, It’s normal, isn’t it ?
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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