imploring

Word family

• implore
  verbB2
• imploringly
  adverbB2
• imploration
  nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All five words describe asking someone to do something with strong emotion, but they differ in formality and intensity. Beg is the most common and neutral word — you can beg your friend for a favour or beg a stranger for money. Plead with is slightly more formal and often carries a legal or judicial tone, as in 'plead with the judge for leniency'. Implore, the subject of this entry, is more formal still and adds a layer of desperation that goes beyond ordinary begging — you implore someone when the stakes are very high and you feel powerless. Entreat and beseech belong to literary or very formal registers. Entreat suggests a humble, respectful request, while beseech is the strongest and most dramatic, often used in religious or poetic texts. For example, a lawyer might entreat a jury to be fair, but a character in a novel might beseech God for mercy.

Common collocations

Etymology

Imploring comes from Latin implorāre, a combination of in- ('toward, upon') and plorāre ('to weep, cry out'). In ancient Rome, implorāre meant to call for help with tears — a vivid picture of desperate need. The word passed into French and then into English in the early 1500s, keeping its sense of urgent, emotional request.