What does entreat mean?
To entreat is to ask for something with earnest, urgent sincerity — to beg, plead, or implore rather than merely request. The verb carries a formal, literary tone that elevates it above everyday asking: a character in a novel might entreat a judge for leniency, or a refugee might entreat officials for asylum. Its force lies in its emotional weight; entreaty implies that the speaker is anxious, perhaps desperate, and often in a position of vulnerability relative to the person being addressed. Derived from the same Latin root as 'treat' and 'retreat', the word entered English through Old French in the late Middle Ages and flourished in the prose of Shakespeare and the King James Bible, where phrases like 'I do entreat you' gave it lasting resonance. Today it survives chiefly in literary, legal, and rhetorical contexts, where writers reach for it precisely because of its gravity and old-fashioned dignity.
To ask someone earnestly or anxiously to do something; to plead or beg with urgency.
"The prisoner entreated the king to spare his life."
Typically takes the pattern 'entreat someone to do something' or 'entreat someone for something'.
(Archaic) To deal with or treat (a person or thing) in a particular way.
"They entreated him kindly during his stay."
This sense is obsolete in modern usage but appears in older texts such as the King James Bible.
Shakespeare couldn't get enough of it — 'I do entreat you' echoes through his plays dozens of times, making it one of the most quotable begging words in English.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of entreat
Entreat derives from Anglo-French 'entretier', formed from Latin 'tractare', meaning to drag about, handle, or deal with — the same root that gives us 'treat', 'retreat', and 'trait'. It entered Middle English in the late medieval period, originally carrying the broader sense of dealing with or handling something, which gradually narrowed to the modern sense of earnest pleading. Its close cousin 'entreaty', meaning an earnest plea, developed from the verb.
Related word forms
How entreat is actually used
Formal and literary in register; rare in everyday conversation. Carries an emotional connotation of earnest, sometimes desperate pleading, often implying a power imbalance in which the speaker is at the mercy of the listener.
Easily confused with entreat
'Entreat' means to plead or beg earnestly, while 'entrance' as a verb means to fill with wonder and delight.