What does requested mean?
Requested is the past tense and past participle of request and is also used adjectivally. As a verb, it means to ask for something formally or informally: a person may request information, assistance, approval, or a change. In constructions such as “the requested amount,” it describes what someone has asked for, often within a formal document, application, or transaction. The word is stylistically neutral, though it can sound more official than the plainer “asked for.” It may convey politeness rather than entitlement, although context determines whether an ask is optional or obligatory. Requested should not be confused with required: requesting expresses a want or instruction, while requiring marks something necessary or mandated. The participial form is especially useful in writing because it connects an ask with its subject or makes it modify a following noun, as in “she requested,” “the change requested,” and “as requested.”
To ask for something in a formal or informal way.
"Several members requested an extension to the consultation period."
As a verb, requested functions as the past tense and past participle of request.
Asked for, demanded, or formally specified by someone.
"Please complete the requested fields and return the form."
This participial use is especially common in forms, applications, correspondence, and administrative documents.
The word’s Latin ancestor meant “asked for” or “sought out,” so even a formal request began as a search for something.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does requested come from?
The English word request comes through Anglo-French from Latin requestus, the past participle of requirere, meaning “to ask for” or “seek.” Latin requirere combines the prefix re- with quaerere, meaning “to seek” or “inquire”; the same root also appears in require, query, inquire, and quest. The regular English past tense and past participle were formed by adding -ed to request.
Related word forms
How requested is actually used
The word is grammatically common and stylistically neutral, although it can sound more formal or official than “asked for.” As a participial adjective, it commonly appears before a noun, especially in administrative and transactional contexts.
Easily confused with requested
A request expresses an ask or desire, whereas a requirement makes something necessary or mandatory.