beg

verb

1)

he begged on the streets

Syn:

panhandle, ask for money, seek charity, seek alms; informal sponge, cadge, scrounge, bum, mooch

2)

we begged for mercy

Syn:

ask for, request, plead for, appeal for, call for, sue for, solicit, seek, press for

3)

he begged her not to go

Syn:

implore, entreat, plead with, appeal to, supplicate, pray to, importune; ask, request, call on, petition; literary beseech

••

beg, entreat, plead, beseech, implore, importune, petition, solicit

How badly do you want something? You can beg for it, which implies a humble and earnest approach. If you entreat, you're trying to get what you want by ingratiating yourself (she entreated her mother to help her prepare for the exam). To plead involves more urgency (he pleaded with the judge to spare his life) and is usually associated with the legal system (she was advised to plead guilty). Beseech also suggests urgency, as well as an emotional appeal (he beseeched her to tell the truth). Implore is still stronger, suggesting desperation or great distress (the look in his mother's eyes implored him to have mercy). If you really want to get your way, you can importune, which means to beg not only urgently but persistently and to risk making a pest of yourself (he importuned her daily to accept his invitation). Petition suggests an appeal to authority (to petition the government to repeal an unjust law), while solicit suggests petitioning in a courteous, formal way (soliciting financial support for the school carnival).