Adjacent Words

Plead definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PLEAD, v.i. [See Plea.] In a general sense, to argue in support of a claim, or in defense against the claim of another.
1. In law, to present an answer to the declaration of a plaintiff; to deny the plaintiff's declaration and demand, or to allege facts which show that he ought not to recover in the suit. The plaintiff declares or alleges; the defendant pleads to his declaration. The king or the state prosecutes an offender, and the offender pleads not guilty, or confesses the charge.
2. To urge reasons for or against; to attempt to persuade one by argument or supplication; as, to plead for the life of a criminal; to plead in his favor; to plead with a judge or with a father.
O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor! Job 16.
3. To supplicate with earnestness.
4. To urge; to press by operating on the passions.
Since you can love,and yet your error see,
The same resistless power may plead for me.
PLEAD, v.t. To discuss, defend and attempt to maintain by arguments or reasons offered to the tribunal or person who has the power of determining; as, to plead a cause before a court or jury. In this sense, argue is more generally used by lawyers.
1. To allege or adduce in proof, support or vindication. The law of nations may be pleaded in favor of the rights of embassadors.
2. To offer in excuse.
I will neither plead my age nor sickness in excuse of faults.
3. To allege and offer in a legal plea or defense,or for repelling a demand in law; as, to plead usury; to plead a statute of limitations.
4. In Scripture, to plead the cause of the righteous, as God, is to avenge or vindicate them against enemies, or to redress their grievances. Isaiah 51.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: appeal or request earnestly; "I pleaded with him to stop"
2: offer as an excuse or plea; "She was pleading insanity"
3: enter a plea, as in courts of law; "She pleaded not guilty"
4: 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

Merriam Webster's

verb (pleaded or pled; also plead; pleading) Etymology: Middle English pleden, plaiden, from Anglo-French plaider, pleder, from plai plea Date: 13th century intransitive verb 1. to argue a case or cause in a court of law 2. a. to make an allegation in an action or other legal proceeding; especially to answer the previous pleading of the other party by denying facts therein stated or by alleging new facts b. to conduct pleadings 3. to make a plea of a specified nature <plead not guilty> 4. a. to argue for or against a claim b. to entreat or appeal earnestly transitive verb 1. to maintain (as a case or cause) in a court of law or other tribunal 2. to allege in or by way of a legal plea 3. to offer as a plea usually in defense, apology, or excuse • pleadable adjective • pleader noun • pleadingly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. (past and past part. pleaded or esp. US, Sc., & dial. pled) 1 intr. (foll. by with) make an earnest appeal to. 2 intr. Law address a lawcourt as an advocate on behalf of a party. 3 tr. maintain (a cause) esp. in a lawcourt. 4 tr. Law declare to be one's state as regards guilt in or responsibility for a crime (plead guilty; plead insanity). 5 tr. offer or allege as an excuse (pleaded forgetfulness). 6 intr. make an appeal or entreaty. Derivatives: pleadable adj. pleader n. pleadingly adv. Etymology: ME f. AF pleder, OF plaidier (as PLEA)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plead Plead, v. t. 1. To discuss, defend, and attempt to maintain by arguments or reasons presented to a tribunal or person having uthority to determine; to argue at the bar; as, to plead a cause before a court or jury. Every man should plead his own matter. --Sir T. More. Note: In this sense, argue is more generally used by lawyers. 2. To allege or cite in a legal plea or defense, or for repelling a demand in law; to answer to an indictment; as, to plead usury; to plead statute of limitations; to plead not guilty. --Kent. 3. To allege or adduce in proof, support, or vendication; to offer in excuse; as, the law of nations may be pleaded in favor of the rights of ambassadors. --Spenser. I will neither plead my age nor sickness, in excuse of faults. --Dryden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plead Plead, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pleaded (colloq. Pleador Pled); p. pr. & vb. n. Pleading.] [OE. pleden, plaiden, OF. plaidier, F. plaider, fr. LL. placitare, fr. placitum. See Plea.] 1. To argue in support of a claim, or in defense against the claim of another; to urge reasons for or against a thing; to attempt to persuade one by argument or supplication; to speak by way of persuasion; as, to plead for the life of a criminal; to plead with a judge or with a father. O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor! --Job xvi. 21. 2. (Law) To present an answer, by allegation of fact, to the declaration of a plaintiff; to deny the plaintiff's declaration and demand, or to allege facts which show that ought not to recover in the suit; in a less strict sense, to make an allegation of fact in a cause; to carry on the allegations of the respective parties in a cause; to carry on a suit or plea. --Blackstone. Burrill. Stephen. 3. To contend; to struggle. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plead Plead, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pleaded (colloq. Pleador Pled); p. pr. & vb. n. Pleading.] [OE. pleden, plaiden, OF. plaidier, F. plaider, fr. LL. placitare, fr. placitum. See Plea.] 1. To argue in support of a claim, or in defense against the claim of another; to urge reasons for or against a thing; to attempt to persuade one by argument or supplication; to speak by way of persuasion; as, to plead for the life of a criminal; to plead with a judge or with a father. O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor! --Job xvi. 21. 2. (Law) To present an answer, by allegation of fact, to the declaration of a plaintiff; to deny the plaintiff's declaration and demand, or to allege facts which show that ought not to recover in the suit; in a less strict sense, to make an allegation of fact in a cause; to carry on the allegations of the respective parties in a cause; to carry on a suit or plea. --Blackstone. Burrill. Stephen. 3. To contend; to struggle. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pleads, pleading, pleaded) 1. If you plead with someone to do something, you ask them in an intense, emotional way to do it. The lady pleaded with her daughter to come back home... He was kneeling on the floor pleading for mercy... 'Do not say that,' she pleaded... I pleaded to be allowed to go. = beg VERB: V with n to-inf, V for n, V with quote, V to-inf-passive, also V, V that 2. When someone charged with a crime pleads guilty or not guilty in a court of law, they officially state that they are guilty or not guilty of the crime. Morris had pleaded guilty to robbery. VERB: V adj 3. If you plead the case or cause of someone or something, you speak out in their support or defence. He appeared before the Committee to plead his case... VERB: V n 4. If you plead a particular thing as the reason for doing or not doing something, you give it as your excuse. Mr Giles pleads ignorance as his excuse... It was no defence to plead that they were only obeying orders. VERB: V n, V that

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

pled: In modern non-legal English is a synonym of "pray" or "beseech," but in legal phraseology "plea," "plead," and "pleading" have a great variety of technical meanings, with "present a case before the court" as the idea common to all. All the uses of "plead" in English Versions of the Bible are connected with this legal sense, so that outside of the set phrase "plead a cause" (1Sa 24:15, etc.) there is hardly a use of the word in the King James Version, the English Revised Version, or the American Standard Revised Version that is clear modern English The most obscure instances are due to The King James Version's employment of "plead" to translate the niphal of shaphaT. ShaphaT means "judge," so its niphal means "bring oneself into a case to be judged," "enter into controversy with," and so "plead" in the legal sense. Hence, "None pleadeth in truth" (Isa 59:4) means "none of their lawsuits are honest." Accordingly, when God is said to "plead with" man (Isa 66:16 the King James Version, the English Revised Version, etc.), the meaning is that God states His side of the case and not at all that He supplicates man to repent. And this statement by God is a judicial act that of course admits of no reply. Hence, the Revised Version (British and American) has changed "plead with" into "enter into judgment with" in Jer 2:35, and the American Standard Revised Version has carried this change into all the other passages (Jer 25:31; Eze 17:20; 20:35,36; 38:22), with "execute judgment" in Isa 66:16; Joe 3:2. The same verb form occurs also in Isa 43:26: "Let us plead together," where "Let us present our arguments on both sides" would be a fair paraphrase. Otherwise "plead" usually represents ribh, for which the Revised Version (British and American) gives "strive" in place of "plead" in Ps 35:1, and "contend" in Job 13:19; 23:6 (the American Standard Revised Version also in Jud 6:31,32; Isa 3:13; Jer 2:9; 12:1; Ho 2:2, retaining "plead" only in Isa 1:17 and in the phrase "plead a cause"). yakhach, is rendered "plead" in Job 19:5 ("plead against me my reproach," where the meaning is "convict me of"), in Mic 6:2 the King James Version and the English Revised Version (the American Standard Revised Version "contend"), and Job 16:21 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "maintain the right"). "Plead" is used also for din, in Jer 30:13 and Pr 31:9 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "minister justice to"), and Jer 5:28 the Revised Version (British and American) (the King James Version "judge"; compare Jer 22:16, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "judge"). the Revised Version (British and American) would have done vastly better if the use of "plead" had been avoided altogether.

Pleadings (i.e. "arguments") occurs in Job 13:6 (for ribh), and "plea" (din, in a specific legal sense) in De 17:8. the King James Version uses "implead" in Ac 19:38 for egkaleo, the Revised Version (British and American) "accuse," literally, "call into court"; compare also "pleaded the cause" in 2 Macc 4:44 (literally, "argued the case") and 4:47, the Revised Version (British and American) "pleaded" (literally, "spoken," the King James Version "told their cause").

Burton Scott Easton

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. (Law.) Make an allegation, carry on a suit. 2. Reason, argue, offer reasons, use arguments. 3. Apologize, offer apology or justification, make defence. II. v. a. 1. Allege, offer in excuse. 2. Argue, discuss, defend, maintain by arguments. 3. Allege, adduce in proof.

Moby Thesaurus

adduce, adjure, advance, advocate, affirm, allege, appeal, appeal to, apply to, argue, argufy, array, ask, ask for, assert, aver, avow, bandy words, beg, beseech, bicker, blandish, brace, bring forward, bring on, bring to bear, cajole, call for help, call on, call upon, cavil, choplogic, clamor for, coax, conduct pleadings, conjure, contend, contest, crave, cross swords, cry for, cry on, cry to, cut and thrust, declare, demand, deploy, discept, dispute, entreat, exhort, give and take, hassle, have it out, high-pressure, impetrate, implead, implore, importune, imprecate, insist, insist upon, invoke, jawbone, join issue, kneel to, lobby, lock horns, logomachize, maintain, make a plea, marshal, moot, nag, obtest, offer, petition, pettifog, plead for, plead with, polemicize, polemize, pray, present, press, pressure, produce, push, put forward, quibble, rally, recommend, request, rest, run to, say, seek, soft-soap, solicit, spar, supplicate, swear, sweet-talk, take sides, thrash out, try conclusions, urge, wheedle, work on, wrangle