adjure

verb

ad·​jure ə-ˈju̇r 

adjured; adjuring

transitive verb

1

: to command solemnly under or as if under oath or penalty of a curse

2

: to urge or advise earnestly

Did you know?

What is the difference between adjure, entreat, importune, and implore?

Adjure comes, by way of Anglo-French, from the Latin verb adjūrāre, which means “to affirm with an oath” or “to swear.” The root of adjūrāre is jūrāre, which means “to swear”; that word is also the source of jury (“a body of persons sworn to give a verdict on some matter submitted to them”) and juror (“a member of a jury”). In English, “to adjure” can mean to command someone as if under oath or the penalty of a curse, but the word is more commonly used in the sense of “to urge or advise earnestly,” and is synonymous with the somewhat more familiar verbs entreat, importune, and implore.

Synonyms

• admonish
• advise
• counsel

Choose the Right Synonym for adjure

beg, entreat, beseech, implore, supplicate, adjure, importune mean to ask urgently.

beg suggests earnestness or insistence in the asking.

they begged for help

entreat implies an effort to persuade or to overcome resistance.

entreated me to join them

beseech and implore imply a deeply felt anxiety.

I beseech you to have mercy

implored her not to leave him

supplicate suggests a posture of humility.

with bowed heads they supplicated their Lord

adjure implies advising as well as pleading.

we were adjured to tell the truth

importune suggests an annoying persistence in trying to break down resistance to a request.

importuning viewers for contributions

Examples of adjure in a Sentence

He adjured his followers to remain faithful to the cause.

adjured them not to break the drug laws of any of the countries they would be visiting

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite the song’s topic, the music is joyful, light, as Carlito adjures Maya in Lingala, the language of Kinshasa and its environs: Listen to a voice calling you in the middle of the night. —Nicolas Niarchos, The New Yorker, 26 June 2019

And Congress is adjured by the Fourteenth Amendment to enforce it against the states. —WSJ, 25 May 2018

Word History

Etymology

Middle English adjuren, borrowed from Anglo-French ajurer, borrowed from Latin adjūrāre "to affirm with an oath, swear," from ad- ad- + jūrāre "to swear" — more at jury entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

adjure

verb

ad·​jure ə-ˈju̇(ə)r 

adjured; adjuring

: to command solemnly under or as if under oath

adjuration

ˌaj-ə-ˈrā-shən

noun