Adjacent Words

Urge definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

URGE, v.t [L. urgeo. This belongs probably to the family of Gr. and L. arceo.]
1. To press; to push; to drive; to impel; to apply force to, in almost any manner.
And great Achilles urge the Trojan fate.
2. To press the mind or will; to press by motives, arguments, persuasion or importunity.
My broth did urge me in his act.
3. To provoke; to exasperate.
Urge not my father's anger.
4. To follow close; to impel.
Heir urges heir, like wave impelling wave.
5. To labor vehemently; to press with eagerness.
Through the thick deserts headlong urg'd his flight.
6. To press; as, to urge an argument; to urge a petition; to urge the necessity of a case.
7. To importune; to solicit earnestly. He urged his son to withdraw.
8. To apply forcibly; as, to urge an ore with intense heat.
URGE, v.i. To press forward; as, he strives to urge upward.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an instinctive motive; "profound religious impulses" [syn: urge, impulse]
2: a strong restless desire; "why this urge to travel?" [syn: urge, itch] v
1: force or impel in an indicated direction; "I urged him to finish his studies" [syn: urge, urge on, press, exhort]
2: push for something; "The travel agent recommended strongly that we not travel on Thanksgiving Day" [syn: recommend, urge, advocate]
3: spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts; "The crowd cheered the demonstrating strikers" [syn: cheer, root on, inspire, urge, barrack, urge on, exhort, pep up]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (urged; urging) Etymology: Latin urg?re to press, push, entreat — more at wreak Date: circa 1555 transitive verb 1. to present, advocate, or demand earnestly or pressingly <his conviction was upheld on a theory never urged at his…trial — Leon Friedman> 2. to undertake the accomplishment of with energy, swiftness, or enthusiasm <urge the attack> 3. a. solicit, entreat <urged him to keep trying> b. to serve as a motive or reason for <urged by a sense of duty> 4. to force or impel in an indicated direction or into motion or greater speed <the dog urged the sheep toward the gate> 5. stimulate, provoke <urge not my father's anger — Shakespeare> intransitive verb to declare, advance, or press earnestly a statement, argument, charge, or claim <urgeed for the adoption of the proposal> • urger noun II. noun Date: circa 1618 1. the act or process of urging 2. a force or impulse that urges; especially a continuing impulse toward an activity or goal

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. 1 (often foll. by on) drive forcibly; impel; hasten (urged them on; urged the horses forward). 2 (often foll. by to + infin. or that + clause) encourage or entreat earnestly or persistently (urged them to go; urged them to action; urged that they should go). 3 (often foll. by on, upon) advocate (an action or argument etc.) pressingly or emphatically (to a person). 4 adduce forcefully as a reason or justification (urged the seriousness of the problem). 5 ply (a person etc.) hard with argument or entreaty. --n. 1 an urging impulse or tendency. 2 a strong desire. Derivatives: urger n. Etymology: L urgere press, drive

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Urge Urge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Urged; p. pr. & vb. n. Urging.] [L. urgere; akin to E. wreak. See Wreak, v. t.] 1. To press; to push; to drive; to impel; to force onward. Through the thick deserts headlong urged his flight. --Pope. 2. To press the mind or will of; to ply with motives, arguments, persuasion, or importunity. My brother never Did urge me in his act; I did inquire it. --Shak. 3. To provoke; to exasperate. [R.] Urge not my father's anger. --Shak. 4. To press hard upon; to follow closely Heir urges heir, like wave impelling wave. --Pope. 5. To present in an urgent manner; to press upon attention; to insist upon; as, to urge an argument; to urge the necessity of a case. 6. To treat with forcible means; to take severe or violent measures with; as, to urge an ore with intense heat. Syn: To animate; incite; impel; instigate; stimulate; encourage.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Urge Urge, v. i. 1. To press onward or forward. [R.] 2. To be pressing in argument; to insist; to persist.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(urges, urging, urged) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you urge someone to do something, you try hard to persuade them to do it. They urged parliament to approve plans for their reform programme... VERB: V n to-inf 2. If you urge someone somewhere, you make them go there by touching them or talking to them. He slipped his arm around her waist and urged her away from the window... 'Come on, Grace,' he was urging her, 'don't wait, hurry up.' VERB: V n prep/adv, V n 3. If you urge a course of action, you strongly advise that it should be taken. He urged restraint on the security forces... We urge vigorous action to be taken immediately. VERB: V n on n, V n 4. If you have an urge to do or have something, you have a strong wish to do or have it. He had an urge to open a shop of his own... N-COUNT: oft N to-inf

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Push, press, impel, drive, force onward, push on, press on. 2. Solicit, importune, beg, entreat, beseech, implore, conjure. 3. Incite, animate, encourage, instigate, stimulate, goad, spur. 4. Press upon attention, present in an urgent manner.

Moby Thesaurus

accelerate, admonish, advise, advocate, affirm, allege, appetite, appetition, apply pressure, ardor, argue, ask, assert, automatic response, beg, beseech, beset, besiege, blandish, blind impulse, brain wave, brainstorm, brook no denial, bug, bundle, bustle, buttonhole, cajole, call on, call upon, caution, charge, cheer on, coax, compulsion, concupiscence, constrain, constraint, contend, counsel, craving, crowd, curiosity, demand, desideration, desire, dispatch, drive, drive on, dun, eagerness, egg on, encourage, enjoin, entreat, exert pressure, exhort, exigency, expedite, expostulate, fancy, fantasy, flash, fleeting impulse, force, forward, goad, goad on, gut response, haste, hasten, hasten on, hie on, high-pressure, hold, hope, horme, hound on, hunger, hurry, hurry along, hurry on, hurry up, hustle, hustle up, impel, impetus, importune, impulse, impulsion, incentive, incite, induce, influence, insist, insist on, insist upon, inspiration, instinct, intellectual curiosity, involuntary impulse, issue a caveat, itch, jawbone, libido, lobby, longing, lust, lust for learning, maintain, mind, motive, move, nag, nag at, natural impulse, need, needle, notion, passion, persist, persuade, pester, pinch, plague, plead with, pleasure, pleasure principle, ply, preach, precipitate, press, pressure, prevail upon, prick, prod, prompt, propel, provoke, push, push on, push through, quick hunch, quicken, railroad through, rash impulse, recommend, reflex, remonstrate, request, root on, rush, rush along, set forth, set on, sexual desire, shove, sic, soft-soap, solicit, speed, speed along, speed on, speed up, spring, spur, spur on, stampede, stand on, state, stick to, stress, sudden thought, suggest, sway, sweet-talk, take no denial, talk into, tease, thirst, thirst for knowledge, urge on, urgency, want, wanting, warn, wheedle, whip, whip along, whip on, will, will and pleasure, wish, wish fulfillment, work on, yearning, yen