supplication

Kneeling earnest request

Supplication is humble, earnest pleading—a request made from a position of powerlessness to one of power.

The word carries religious overtones: prayers are often supplications to God.

But secular use works too: His supplication to the judge fell on deaf ears.

To supplicate is to make such a plea, positioning oneself as dependent on another's mercy or goodwill.

entreaty

beseech

Plead urgently with someone

imploreUrge with desperation
pleadAsk urgently or formally
appealFormal review request

entreat · begging · beseeching · imploring · adjure · importune · solicit · invoke · conjure · exhort

prayer

invocation

Calling upon higher authority

intercessionActing on another's behalf
benedictionFormal spoken blessing
litanyProlonged repetitive account

novena · rosary · vespers · matins · compline · lauds · prostration · genuflection · orison · namaz

petition

appeal

Formal review request

requestFormal act of seeking
applicationFormal request document
submissionYielding to another's will

redress · intercession · lobbying · proposal · requisition · memorial · representation · entreaty · overture · address

mercy

clemency

Merciful treatment of offenders

pardonOfficial release from punishment
forgivenessReleasing resentment toward offenders
leniencyMildness in punishment

grace · reprieve · absolution · remission · indulgence · amnesty · redemption · atonement · compassion · pity

humility

meekness

Gentle, unassertive disposition

submissivenessDisposition to obey others
deferenceYielding to another's judgment
prostrationUtter physical or mental depletion

genuflection · kneeling · bowing · lowliness · self-abasement · obeisance · contriteness · penitence · reverence · docility

Categories

Islamic practicessalah, salat, hajj, zakat, five pillars
Islamic worshipsalah, salat, zakat, hajj, namaz
worshippraying, congregational prayer, adoration, praise God, evening prayer
askingquestion, inquiry, request, query, demand
humble requestplease, beg, appeal, petition, entreaty
pleasplea, pleas, please, prayers, entreaty

Opposites

speech act force

supplicationdemand

Forceful request or requirement

command · order · dictate · decree · ultimatum

communicative direction/role

supplicationanswer

Solution to query

granting · bestowal · response · concession · fulfillment

stance toward higher power

supplicationdefiance

Open resistance to authority

rebellion · insolence · impudence · arrogance · blasphemy

Family

supplicating, supplications

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G