Synonym Chooser

How is the word adjure distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of adjure are beg, beseech, entreat, implore, importune, and supplicate. While all these words mean "to ask urgently," adjure implies advising as well as pleading.

we were adjured to tell the truth

When can beg be used instead of adjure?

The synonyms beg and adjure are sometimes interchangeable, but beg suggests earnestness or insistence in the asking.

they begged for help

How are the words beseech and implore related as synonyms of adjure?

Both beseech and implore imply a deeply felt anxiety.

I beseech you to have mercy
implored her not to leave him

In what contexts can entreat take the place of adjure?

While in some cases nearly identical to adjure, entreat implies an effort to persuade or to overcome resistance.

entreated me to join them

Where would importune be a reasonable alternative to adjure?

The words importune and adjure can be used in similar contexts, but importune suggests an annoying persistence in trying to break down resistance to a request.

importuning viewers for contributions

When would supplicate be a good substitute for adjure?

While the synonyms supplicate and adjure are close in meaning, supplicate suggests a posture of humility.

with bowed heads they supplicated their Lord

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of adjure 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adjure
Verb
  • Candle Media has hired Raine Group to advise on a possible sale of social publisher ATTN:, two sources confirmed to Axios.
    Tim Baysinger, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025
  • The guide advises passengers to be considerate of those around them, particularly on longer journeys where prolonged exposure to smells or sounds can cause discomfort.
    Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Education institutions were instructed to review their policies; cease efforts to circumvent bans of race considerations or its proxies; and end contracts with third parties that consider race.
    April Rubin, Axios, 17 Feb. 2025
  • The House resolution raises the debt ceiling by $4 trillion and instructs congressional committees to find at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, only partially offsetting the tax cuts extension.
    Brett Rowland | The Center Square, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 16 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Confusion, tears and 'Hunger Games' at USAID as agency prepares to go dark Current and former officials warn that dismantling USAID could create a global vacuum that could be filled by U.S. adversaries like China.
    Isabel Danzis, ABC News, 9 Feb. 2025
  • Ye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian was apparently warned in advance by his assistant, and skipped the Grammys to take her son Saint, 8, to the movies.
    Richard Johnson, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • This year’s discussion will concentrate on bringing out the stories of our community told by our neighbors, friends and families.
    Sam Ouk, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
  • King, who’s been selling appliances at Abt Electronics in Glenview for about 21 years, was seeking guidance about what to tell customers worried about tariffs.
    Lizzie Kane, Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Among the influencers in those meetings was Arturo Schomburg, a Puerto Rican historian of African descent who, as a young child, often wondered about the lack of African history taught in his classrooms, an interest that formed the cornerstone of his lifework of research and preservation.
    Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025
  • Lincoln Mitchell, a political analyst who teaches in Columbia University’s political science department and is a former adviser to Georgian Dream, agreed.
    Elizabeth McBride, CNN, 15 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • On Friday a federal judge blocked DOGE from accessing the Treasury payment system while a court challenge proceeds and ordered any material downloaded from the system to be destroyed.
    Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
  • Trump slapped 10% tariffs on Chinese imports and ordered an end to the loophole.
    Brian Slodysko, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • When the film opens, Anne is counselling one of her clients, a teen-age girl who has accused a boy of rape.
    Victoria Uren, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
  • Committing violence, that Vance counseled against, wasn’t a problem for Trump and there was no case by case review, as Bondi suggested.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Despite that fact that artists don’t get paid for appearing in the Super Bowl Halftime show, it is considered a great honor to be asked.
    Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 9 Feb. 2025
  • Yes, the president was asked directly, is there anything that Elon Musk cannot touch?
    ABC News, ABC News, 9 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Adjure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adjure. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

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