| Beseech | v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Besought p. pr. & vb. n. Beseeching. ] [ OE. bisechen, biseken (akin to G. besuchen to visit); pref. be- + sechen, seken, to seek. See Seek. ] 1. To ask or entreat with urgency; to supplicate; to implore. [ 1913 Webster ] I beseech you, punish me not with your hard thoughts. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] But Eve . . . besought his peace. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] Syn. -- To beg; to crave. -- To Beseech, Entreat, Solicit, Implore, Supplicate. These words agree in marking that sense of want which leads men to beg some favor. To solicit is to make a request, with some degree of earnestness and repetition, of one whom we address as a superior. To entreat implies greater urgency, usually enforced by adducing reasons or arguments. To beseech is still stronger, and belongs rather to the language of poetry and imagination. To implore denotes increased fervor of entreaty, as addressed either to equals or superiors. To supplicate expresses the extreme of entreaty, and usually implies a state of deep humiliation. Thus, a captive supplicates a conqueror to spare his life. Men solicit by virtue of their interest with another; they entreat in the use of reasoning and strong representations; they beseech with importunate earnestness; they implore from a sense of overwhelming distress; they supplicate with a feeling of the most absolute inferiority and dependence. [ 1913 Webster ] |
