Synonyms for plead
plidplead

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.7 / 3 votes

1. plead

   To plead for one is to employ argument or persuasion, or both in his behalf, usually with earnestness or importunity; similarly one may be said to plead for himself or for a cause, etc., or with direct object, to plead a case; in legal usage, pleading is argumentative, but in popular usage, pleading always implies some appeal to the feelings. One argues a case solely on rational grounds and supposably with fair consideration of both sides; he advocates one side for the purpose of carrying it, and under the influence of motives that may range all the way from cold self-interest to the highest and noblest impulses; he pleads a cause, or pleads for a person with still more intense feeling. Beseech, entreat, and implore imply impassioned earnestness, with direct and tender appeal to personal considerations. Press and urge imply more determined or perhaps authoritative insistence. Solicit is a weak word denoting merely an attempt to secure one's consent or cooperation, sometimes by sordid or corrupt motives.

   Synonyms:
   advocate, argue, ask, beg, beseech, entreat, implore, press, solicit, urge

   Preposition:
   Plead with the tyrant for the captive; plead against the oppression or the oppressor; plead to the indictment; at the bar; before the court; in open court.

Princeton's WordNet

1. pleadverb

   appeal or request earnestly

   "I pleaded with him to stop"

2. pleadverb

   offer as an excuse or plea

   "She was pleading insanity"

3. pleadverb

   enter a plea, as in courts of law

   "She pleaded not guilty"

4. pleadverb

   make an allegation in an action or other legal proceeding, especially answer the previous pleading of the other party by denying facts therein stated or by alleging new facts

Matched Categories

1. • Allege
   • Appeal
   • Declare
   • Excuse
   • Law

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. pleadverb

   Synonyms:
   (Law.) make an allegation, carry on a suit

2. pleadverb

   Synonyms:
   reason, argue, offer reasons, use arguments

3. pleadverb

   Synonyms:
   apologize, offer apology or justification, make defence

4. pleadverb

   Synonyms:
   allege, offer in excuse

5. pleadverb

   Synonyms:
   argue, discuss, defend, maintain by arguments

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pleadverb

   Synonyms:
   reason, argue, apologize, defend, advocate, intercede

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "plead":

   invoke, argue, advocate

How to pronounce plead?

How to say plead in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. [["1524","1"],["1563","4"],["1564","1"],["1579","2"],["1581","11"],["1582","3"],["1588","1"],["1592","3"],["1598","2"],["1607","7"],["1612","1"],["1614","2"],["1619","2"],["1620","8"],["1621","1"],["1624","1"],["1629","5"],["1631","1"],["1634","3"],["1635","5"],["1637","2"],["1641","1"],["1642","3"],["1643","4"],["1644","13"],["1645","1"],["1647","19"],["1648","4"],["1649","7"],["1651","4"],["1652","6"],["1653","2"],["1654","1"],["1655","11"],["1656","12"],["1657","1"],["1658","7"],["1659","39"],["1660","11"],["1661","3"],["1662","2"],["1665","2"],["1667","11"],["1668","41"],["1669","1"],["1670","4"],["1671","10"],["1672","59"],["1673","20"],["1674","2"],["1675","52"],["1676","41"],["1677","17"],["1678","17"],["1679","16"],["1680","17"],["1681","47"],["1682","33"],["1683","75"],["1684","58"],["1685","29"],["1686","10"],["1687","15"],["1688","29"],["1689","22"],["1690","19"],["1691","2"],["1692","37"],["1693","18"],["1694","23"],["1695","18"],["1696","16"],["1697","20"],["1698","58"],["1699","56"],["1700","91"],["1701","104"],["1702","116"],["1703","93"],["1704","99"],["1705","105"],["1706","131"],["1707","106"],["1708","109"],["1709","100"],["1710","232"],["1711","163"],["1712","66"],["1713","125"],["1714","194"],["1715","115"],["1716","119"],["1717","208"],["1718","129"],["1719","55"],["1720","185"],["1721","197"],["1722","227"],["1723","147"],["1724","148"],["1725","79"],["1726","118"],["1727","188"],["1728","219"],["1729","174"],["1730","232"],["1731","212"],["1732","205"],["1733","99"],["1734","119"],["1735","131"],["1736","197"],["1737","303"],["1738","204"],["1739","151"],["1740","227"],["1741","131"],["1742","141"],["1743","215"],["1744","211"],["1745","135"],["1746","108"],["1747","219"],["1748","220"],["1749","177"],["1750","234"],["1751","341"],["1752","316"],["1753","315"],["1754","351"],["1755","449"],["1756","125"],["1757","222"],["1758","297"],["1759","300"],["1760","224"],["1761","329"],["1762","113"],["1763","392"],["1764","283"],["1765","343"],["1766","575"],["1767","248"],["1768","617"],["1769","358"],["1770","362"],["1771","399"],["1772","338"],["1773","378"],["1774","392"],["1775","545"],["1776","426"],["1777","311"],["1778","292"],["1779","169"],["1780","354"],["1781","282"],["1782","381"],["1783","519"],["1784","352"],["1785","478"],["1786","431"],["1787","1621"],["1788","570"],["1789","606"],["1790","685"],["1791","824"],["1792","929"],["1793","807"],["1794","871"],["1795","873"],["1796","992"],["1797","802"],["1798","587"],["1799","639"],["1800","982"],["1801","1522"],["1802","1371"],["1803","1395"],["1804","1566"],["1805","1883"],["1806","1700"],["1807","1995"],["1808","2072"],["1809","2167"],["1810","2526"],["1811","3281"],["1812","2990"],["1813","2288"],["1814","2344"],["1815","2427"],["1816","2309"],["1817","2691"],["1818","2895"],["1819","2692"],["1820","3538"],["1821","2888"],["1822","4197"],["1823","4050"],["1824","5277"],["1825","5700"],["1826","3954"],["1827","3724"],["1828","3728"],["1829","4274"],["1830","6838"],["1831","5221"],["1832","4739"],["1833","4460"],["1834","3967"],["1835","5644"],["1836","5092"],["1837","4186"],["1838","4367"],["1839","5423"],["1840","5866"],["1841","5486"],["1842","5475"],["1843","5273"],["1844","5831"],["1845","5960"],["1846","6055"],["1847","5460"],["1848","5618"],["1849","6002"],["1850","5495"],["1851","7423"],["1852","6435"],["1853","7628"],["1854","7487"],["1855","6284"],["1856","6913"],["1857","6277"],["1858","5532"],["1859","5960"],["1860","6520"],["1861","4748"],["1862","4636"],["1863","5489"],["1864","4831"],["1865","4627"],["1866","4977"],["1867","5072"],["1868","4541"],["1869","5538"],["1870","5353"],["1871","5189"],["1872","5575"],["1873","5740"],["1874","5880"],["1875","6169"],["1876","5705"],["1877","5891"],["1878","5403"],["1879","6136"],["1880","6684"],["1881","6265"],["1882","7388"],["1883","8001"],["1884","7697"],["1885","7057"],["1886","6215"],["1887","6412"],["1888","5977"],["1889","5749"],["1890","5891"],["1891","6312"],["1892","6660"],["1893","6545"],["1894","6465"],["1895","7106"],["1896","6743"],["1897","7016"],["1898","7963"],["1899","9413"],["1900","8900"],["1901","9056"],["1902","8631"],["1903","8170"],["1904","8813"],["1905","8381"],["1906","8641"],["1907","8881"],["1908","9160"],["1909","8073"],["1910","8254"],["1911","8292"],["1912","8203"],["1913","7683"],["1914","7305"],["1915","6836"],["1916","6513"],["1917","5945"],["1918","5037"],["1919","5908"],["1920","6820"],["1921","6386"],["1922","7545"],["1923","6081"],["1924","6041"],["1925","5517"],["1926","5650"],["1927","6257"],["1928","6333"],["1929","5753"],["1930","6063"],["1931","5943"],["1932","5564"],["1933","4423"],["1934","4797"],["1935","5124"],["1936","5242"],["1937","5088"],["1938","5381"],["1939","5627"],["1940","4631"],["1941","4644"],["1942","3612"],["1943","3307"],["1944","3201"],["1945","3398"],["1946","5082"],["1947","5830"],["1948","6007"],["1949","6461"],["1950","7237"],["1951","6537"],["1952","6529"],["1953","6152"],["1954","6570"],["1955","6448"],["1956","7371"],["1957","8289"],["1958","7909"],["1959","7886"],["1960","8805"],["1961","9835"],["1962","11009"],["1963","11724"],["1964","11065"],["1965","13255"],["1966","14601"],["1967","14296"],["1968","17048"],["1969","17077"],["1970","16746"],["1971","15628"],["1972","16499"],["1973","15047"],["1974","14380"],["1975","14376"],["1976","14727"],["1977","14254"],["1978","14536"],["1979","13599"],["1980","13661"],["1981","13968"],["1982","13817"],["1983","14196"],["1984","15309"],["1985","16702"],["1986","16179"],["1987","18184"],["1988","17101"],["1989","19138"],["1990","19576"],["1991","19901"],["1992","20891"],["1993","22072"],["1994","22077"],["1995","22409"],["1996","25349"],["1997","24740"],["1998","26866"],["1999","28555"],["2000","32029"],["2001","31759"],["2002","34041"],["2003","40467"],["2004","46269"],["2005","43445"],["2006","49326"],["2007","54404"],["2008","95812"]]

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use plead in a sentence?

1. Melissa George:

   The one thing I certainly did n’t know was that nearly five years later, a clearly traumatized Melissa George would plead publicly to Australia for help after a very troubling incident of domestic violence in her French home and those words of hers would still be used against her by so many. Is Australia really so unforgiving that those flippant and somewhat ridiculous remarks will be held against her for years ? I just wanted to say sorry, Melissa George, you don’t deserve it.

2. Naghmeh Abedini:

   I plead with Congress to ensure that my husband, an American citizen, is not left behind.

3. John Selden:

   Ignorance of the law excuses no man Not that all men know the law, but because 'tis an excuse every man will plead, and no man can tell how to refute him.

4. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker:

   I made it clear back in 2006 that the European project was running out of steam, there was disappointment. I don't think the situation has fundamentally changed, on the contrary, yes it's right we are not very popular when we plead the case for Europe. You are no longer respected in your country if you insist that in the necessity of supra-national bodies.

5. Mark Brayford:

   His position to me was, I just want to plead guilty. I dont want you to plea bargain. I dont want a trial, mr. Sidhu advised me: I dont want to make things any worse. I cant make things any better, but I certainly dont want to make them worse by having a trial.