EN

Synonyms for ask

  • verb
  • noun

Most common

question call for want need seek interrogate

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Question

question, call for, want, need, plead, take, expect, implore, entreat, solicit, beseech, desire, involve, challenge, petition, postulate, necessitate, importune, require dated, beg dated, pray dated

2. Inquire

inquire US AU CA, enquire UK, inquire of US, seek, interrogate, query

Other

take out, apply, bid, quiz, catechize rare, catechise UK

Noun

invite, request, newt, water-salamander

Antonyms

tell, reply, answer

All antonyms of ask →

Definitions

  1. v. 1

    To request or petition. To request (information, or an answer to a question).

    I didn't know the answer so I asked.

  2. v. 2

    To request or petition. To request or enquire of (a person).

    I asked her (for) her age.

  3. n. 1

    An act or instance of asking.

Related words

Word family
askable
Phrases
ask for ask out big ask ask for it ask for trouble ask over ask round ask after
Other spellings
askard askerd

Forms

Plural
asks → invites, requests, newts, water-salamanders…
Past participle
asked
e.g. asked → questioned, wanted, needed, pled…

Choose the right word

Ask, Implore or Supplicate?

To implore is to ask with weeping and lamentation; to supplicate is to ask, as it were, on bended knees.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • want "Why aren't you going?" "Because I don't want to."
  • need There is need for improvement in your handwriting.
  • question To my surprise, she could not answer the question.
  • seek Hide and seek / I count to three / Winter has come
  • interrogate I was aware they would interrogate me.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
askrising
wantrising
needrising
questionfalling
seeksteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
bid1, beg1
4 letters
want1, need1, take1, seek1, pray1, quiz1, newt1
5 letters
apply2, plead1, query2
6 letters
expect2, demand2, desire3, invite2
7 letters
require3, request2, involve2, inquire2, solicit3, enquire3, implore2, beseech2, entreat
8 letters
question2, petition3
9 letters
challenge2, postulate3, importune, catechize, catechise
11 letters
interrogate4, necessitate4

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (apply2 = 2 syllables).