Why do you ask?
Source: tatoeba (1368)
Ask
/ɑːsk/
Synonyms for "ask" (179 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (36)
Strong matches (54)
claimclamor forcommandcravecry forcry out fordebatedeliberatedemanddesirediscussenquirerenquiryentreatexactexamineextortfilefile forhave occasion for
Show 15 more words
imploreimportuneimposeindentinquireinquire ofinterpellateinterrogateinviteissue an invitationissue an ultimatumlevylikemake a demandmake a request
Verb(12 words)
Adjective(1 words)
Related words (89)
Noun(14 words)
Verb(22 words)
necessitateneednewtpleapose questionspostulatepriceproposequeriedqueryquestionquestionedquizzedraise a questionrequestrequestedrequiresolicitsolicitsstated price
Show 2 more words
taketake out
Adverb(1 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: inquire, appeal, appeal to, apply, apply for.
- Sentence evidence is available for ask, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, derived_reverse, moby, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "ask".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "ask"
Keep "ask" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "ask" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "ask", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "ask" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
28 entriesarticulateask forbear onbespeakcall forcome tocommunicatecommunicationcommunication actconcerncostdemandformulategive voicehave to do withintercommunicate
Showing 16 of 28 words.
More specific
15 entriesCollocations
10 entriesasking pricebig askclear askcourteous inquirydirect questionformal requestpolite askpolite inquirysimple questionthe asking price
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
6 entriessimilar
5 entriesTranslations
160 translations across 100 languages.
Aghwan
1 entries- 𐔱𐔴𐕚𐔴𐕚𐕒𐕡𐕎 verb (make a request)
Albanian
1 entries- lut verb (make a request)
Ancient Greek
3 entries- αἰτέω verb (make a request)
- αἰτίζω verb (make a request)
- ἐξαιτέω verb (make a request)
Arabic
3 entries- سَأَلَ verb (make a request)
- طلب verb (make a request)
- طَلَبَ verb (make a request)
Armenian
1 entries- խնդրել verb (make a request)
Assamese
1 entries- খোজা verb (make a request)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
2 entries- ܛܵܠܹܒ verb (make a request)
- ܫܵܐܹܠ verb (make a request)
Azerbaijani
4 entries- arzu etmək verb (make a request)
- diləmək verb (make a request)
- tələb etmək verb (make a request)
- xahiş etmək verb (make a request)
Basque
1 entries- eskatu verb (make a request)
Belarusian
2 entries- папрасі́ць verb (make a request)
- прасі́ць verb (make a request)
Bengali
2 entries- চাওয়া verb (make a request)
- বলা verb (make a request)
Bhojpuri
1 entries- माँगल verb (make a request)
Bulgarian
2 entries- и́скам verb (make a request)
- мо́ля verb (make a request)
Burmese
2 entries- တိုင် verb (make a request)
- ပန် verb (make a request)
Catalan
1 entries- demanar verb (make a request)
Central Kurdish
2 entries- داواکردن verb (make a request)
- پرسین verb (make a request)
Cherokee
1 entries- ᎠᏔᏲᎯᎭ verb (make a request)
Chickasaw
4 entries- asilhha verb (make a request)
- asilhlha verb (make a request)
- imasilhha verb (make a request)
- ittimasilhha verb (make a request)
Chinese Mandarin
2 entries- 請 /请 verb (make a request)
- 請求 /请求 verb (make a request)
Czech
2 entries- prosit verb (make a request)
- žádat verb (make a request)
Dalmatian
1 entries- precur verb (make a request)
Danish
1 entries- bede verb (make a request)
Dutch
1 entries- vragen verb (make a request)
Esperanto
1 entries- peti verb (make a request)
Estonian
1 entries- paluma verb (make a request)
Finnish
1 entries- pyytää verb (make a request)
French
1 entries- demander verb (make a request)
Friulian
1 entries- domandâ verb (make a request)
Galician
1 entries- pedir verb (make a request)
Georgian
2 entries- ითხოვს verb (make a request)
- სთხოვს verb (make a request)
German
1 entries- bitten verb (make a request)
Greek
2 entries- ζητώ verb (make a request)
- παρακαλώ verb (make a request)
Hawaiian
2 entries- noi verb (make a request)
- ui verb (make a request)
Hebrew
2 entries- בִּקֵּשׁ verb (make a request)
- שָׁאַל verb (make a request)
Hindi
2 entries- पूछना verb (make a request)
- माँगना verb (make a request)
Hungarian
2 entries- kér verb (make a request)
- megkér verb (make a request)
Icelandic
2 entries- biðja verb (make a request)
- spyrja verb (make a request)
Ido
1 entries- demandar verb (make a request)
Indonesian
1 entries- minta verb (make a request)
Ingrian
1 entries- kyssyä verb (make a request)
Irish
2 entries- iarr verb (make a request)
- pléigh verb (make a request)
Italian
2 entries- chiedere verb (make a request)
- domandare verb (make a request)
Japanese
1 entries- 頼む verb (make a request)
Kannada
1 entries- ಕೇಳು verb (make a request)
Kazakh
1 entries- өтіну verb (make a request)
Khmer
2 entries- សុំ verb (make a request)
- សួរ verb (make a request)
Komi-Permyak
1 entries- корны verb (make a request)
Korean
2 entries- 부탁하다 verb (make a request)
- 청하다 verb (make a request)
Lao
2 entries- ຂໍ verb (make a request)
- ຈັງ verb (make a request)
Latin
3 entries- precor verb (make a request)
- quaerō verb (make a request)
- rogō verb (make a request)
Latvian
3 entries- lūgt verb (make a request)
- pieprasīt verb (make a request)
- prasīt verb (make a request)
Lithuanian
1 entries- prašyti verb (make a request)
Lower Sorbian
1 entries- pšosyś verb (make a request)
Luxembourgish
1 entries- bieden verb (make a request)
Macedonian
1 entries- моли verb (make a request)
Mongolian
1 entries- гуйх verb (make a request)
Norman
1 entries- d'mander verb (make a request)
Northern Kurdish
3 entries- dawa kirin verb (make a request)
- daxwaz kirin verb (make a request)
- xwestin verb (make a request)
Norwegian
1 entries- be om verb (make a request)
Occitan
1 entries- demandar verb (make a request)
Old English
1 entries- biddan verb (make a request)
Old High German
1 entries- bitten verb (make a request)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- صورمق verb (make a request)
Papiamentu
1 entries- pidi verb (make a request)
Persian
1 entries- درخواستن verb (make a request)
Polish
2 entries- poprosić verb (make a request)
- prosić verb (make a request)
Portuguese
4 entries- pedir verb (make a request)
- requerer verb (make a request)
- requisitar verb (make a request)
- solicitar verb (make a request)
Quechua
1 entries- mañai verb (make a request)
Romanian
3 entries- cere verb (make a request)
- invita verb (make a request)
- ruga verb (make a request)
Russian
2 entries- попроси́ть verb (make a request)
- проси́ть verb (make a request)
Sanskrit
1 entries- पृच्छति verb (make a request)
Sardinian
1 entries- apiliare verb (make a request)
Scots
2 entries- frain verb (make a request)
- speir verb (make a request)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- iarr verb (make a request)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- mòliti verb (make a request)
- pȉtati verb (make a request)
- мо̀лити verb (make a request)
- пи̏тати verb (make a request)
Slovak
2 entries- prosiť verb (make a request)
- žiadať verb (make a request)
Slovene
1 entries- prositi verb (make a request)
Spanish
2 entries- pedir verb (make a request)
- requerir verb (make a request)
Sundanese
1 entries- suhun verb (make a request)
Swahili
1 entries- kuomba verb (make a request)
Swedish
1 entries- be om verb (make a request)
Tagalog
2 entries- hingiin verb (make a request)
- humingi verb (make a request)
Tajik
1 entries- дархост кардан verb (make a request)
Tamil
3 entries- கேள் verb (make a request)
- கோரு verb (make a request)
- வேண்டு verb (make a request)
Telugu
1 entries- అడుగు verb (make a request)
Thai
2 entries- ขอ verb (make a request)
- วาน verb (make a request)
Turkish
1 entries- dilemek verb (make a request)
Turkmen
1 entries- haýyş etmek verb (make a request)
Udmurt
1 entries- курыны verb (make a request)
Ugaritic
1 entries- 𐎌𐎀𐎍 verb (make a request)
Ukrainian
2 entries- попроси́ти verb (make a request)
- проси́ти verb (make a request)
Urdu
1 entries- مانگنا verb (make a request)
Uyghur
1 entries- سوراش verb (make a request)
Uzbek
1 entries- iltimos qilmoq verb (make a request)
Venetan
2 entries- dimandar verb (make a request)
- domandar verb (make a request)
Vietnamese
1 entries- cầu xin verb (make a request)
Welsh
3 entries- ceisio verb (make a request)
- gofyn verb (make a request)
- holi verb (make a request)
Xhosa
1 entries- ukucela verb (make a request)
Yiddish
1 entries- בעטן verb (make a request)
Zulu
4 entries- buza verb (make a request)
- cela verb (make a request)
- ncenga verb (make a request)
- nxusa verb (make a request)
Sample sentences
42 total sentences available.
If anyone was to ask what the point of the story is, I really don't know.
Source: tatoeba (1382)
I won't ask you anything else today.
Source: tatoeba (1397)
I need to ask you a silly question.
Source: tatoeba (1417)
Showing 4 of 42 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "ask"?
Closest matches include inquire, appeal, appeal to, apply, apply for.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "ask"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.