What does "pray" mean?
To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc.
Pray
/pɹeɪ/ adv, name, verb
adv, name, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc.
- Grammar: pray is listed as adv, name, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: beg, implore, adjure, appeal.
- Useful contrasts: command, demand, deny.
- Usage evidence: Let's pray to God, and He will answer our prayers.
How to use "pray"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pray" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pray" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pray" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pray" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pray" is acting as adv, name, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "beg" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pray", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc.
"Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca."
- 2 call upon in supplication; entreat wordnet
- 3 To humbly beg a person for aid or their time.
- 4 address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer wordnet
- 5 To ask earnestly for; to seek to obtain by supplication; to entreat for. obsolete
"I know not how to pray your patience."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To wish or hope strongly for a particular outcome.
"She is praying that the Red Sox will win tonight."
- 7 To implore, to entreat, to request. obsolete
"They prayd him sit, and gave him for to feed Such homely what as serves the simple clowne, That doth despise the dainties of the towne[…]"
Adverb
- 1 Please; used to make a polite request archaic, formal, not-comparable
"pray silence for…"
- 2 Alternative form of pray tell (“I ask you”). alt-of, alternative, not-comparable
"Shall I be moved to love you, pray, / By hints that I must soon decay? / No woman's won by being told / How quickly she is growing old[...]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Let's pray to God, and He will answer our prayers."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pray"?
Common synonyms include: beg, implore, adjure, appeal, appeal to, apply.
How do you use "pray" in a sentence?
Let's pray to God, and He will answer our prayers.
How do you pronounce "pray"?
Pronounced /pɹeɪ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English preien, from Anglo-Norman preier, from Old French preier, proier (French prier), from Latin precārī, from prex, precis (“a prayer, a request”), from Proto-Italic *preks, from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask, woo”). Displaced native Old English gebiddan. Cognate via Indo-European of Old English frignan, fricgan, German fragen, Dutch vragen. Compare deprecate, imprecate, precarious.
Etymology 2
Ellipsis of I pray you, I pray thee, whence also prithee.
Etymology 3
* As an Irish surname, variant of Prey, from ó Préith, a personal name from Old Irish. * As an English surname, borrowed (via Middle English) from French pré (“meadow”).