lexicow

implore

/ɪmˈplɔːr//ɪmˈplɔː/·verb
I watch the dog catch sight of the biscuit and sit up on its haunches. It lifts both front paws and reaches them at the treat, head tilted right back, tail going — and the longer the thing hangs there, the harder the whole little body asks for it: paws pawing the air, straining taller, everything it has bent on that one wish. Then it eases back down, still hoping, its eyes never once leaving the biscuit.
|

Definition

To implore is to beg with feeling — to plead so earnestly that the asking shows in the whole body. It is far stronger than 'ask': people implore others to act, to forgive, or not to withhold help they badly need. The Latin root, implorare, means to call out with tears, the same family that gives us invoke, and that note of desperate appeal stays in the word. You implore when politeness is no longer enough and the request matters too much to make calmly.

Examples

  • She implored the committee not to withhold the funding the clinic depended on.
  • He implored them to persist a little longer, certain the breakthrough was close.
  • The villagers implored the officials to act before the river rose any higher.

Collocations

implore someone to·implore forgiveness·beg and implore·implore mercy·implore for help

Synonyms

beg·plead·beseech·entreat·appeal

Antonyms

demand·command

Word family

imploring (adjective)·imploringly (adverb)

In TOEFL & IELTS

A high-intensity verb for narrative and persuasive writing, normally followed by 'someone to do something'. It signals emotion, so use it where the stakes are real. Spelling and sound trap: keep it distinct from 'implode' (to collapse inward).