plea

/pliː/ (bre, ipa) · /pliː/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈplē/ (ame, mw)

plea — noun

  • pleasingular
  • pleasplural

1. a strong request for help or action, expressed with clear feeling

1.名詞C2
釋義

a strong request for help or action, expressed with clear feeling

例句

At the town meeting, residents made a plea for safer street lights.

pattern: make a plea for + noun

A plea for help came over the camp radio at midnight.

同義詞
  • appeal

    often sounds more public or organized, especially in news or charity contexts

  • request

    more neutral and less emotional

  • entreaty

    more literary and less common in everyday speech

  • begging

    more vivid and often suggests extreme desperation

文法句型

make a plea for + noun

plea to + person/authority + for + noun

plea to + verb

用法筆記

Often used with verbs like make, issue, hear, ignore, and answer, and commonly followed by for plus a noun or to plus a verb. Stronger and more emotional than the neutral word request.

常見錯誤

❌The villagers made a plea of help.
✅The villagers made a plea for help.
💡use 'for' before the thing wanted.

2. the formal statement by an accused person about the charge, usually saying guilt

2.名詞
釋義

the formal statement by an accused person about the charge, usually saying guilty or not guilty

例句

In court, Rosa entered a not guilty plea after the charge was read.

pattern: enter a guilty/not guilty plea

The judge rejected his plea and set a trial date for June.

同義詞
  • answer

    a broad legal word that can refer to many kinds of formal response

  • response

    general and not specifically tied to criminal court procedure

  • defence

    broader than plea and can include later arguments and evidence

文法句型

enter a guilty/not guilty plea

change your plea to guilty/not guilty

accept/reject a plea

用法筆記

Usually appears with verbs like enter, change, accept, reject, and withdraw, and often combines with guilty or not guilty. Distinguish from sense 1, which is a strong request for help or action rather than a legal response.

常見錯誤

❌The defendant said a not guilty plea.
✅The defendant entered a not guilty plea.
💡in legal English, the usual verb is 'enter'.