Supplication

//sʌplɪˈkeɪʃən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An act of supplicating; a humble request. countable, uncountable

    "If Trump defies the Court, there is little to restrain him from acting as an autocrat, given the supplication of Republicans in Congress."

  2. 2
    the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving) wordnet
  3. 3
    An act of supplicating; a humble request.; du'a', minor or private prayer performed individually. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    a humble request for help from someone in authority wordnet
  5. 5
    A prayer or entreaty to a god. countable, uncountable
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    a prayer asking God's help as part of a religious service wordnet
  2. 7
    In Ancient Rome, a solemn service or day decreed for giving formal thanks to the gods for victory, etc. countable, historical, uncountable
  3. 8
    The process by which a doctorate at Oxford university is officially requested after a thesis has been approved. countable, uncountable

Example

More examples

""Let me keep the child!" she answered, beginning to tremble and falling on her knees in supplication."

Etymology

From Middle English supplicacioun, supplication, from Old French supplication, from Latin supplicatio, supplicationem, from supplicare (“to supplicate”). By surface analysis, supplicate + -ion.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.