French word

adjurer

Pronunciation

IPA/adʒyʁe/

Meaning

  • verbbeg

Example

Je vous adjure de rester ici.

I beg you to stay here.

Illustration for adjurer (beg)

More examples

Elle m'a adjuré de ne rien dire.

She begged me not to say anything.

Core concept

A solemn speaker pressing a person to act, as though the plea carries the force of an oath.

Similar words

demander: To request an object or ask someone to do something.
prier: To politely ask for something or ask someone to act.
supplier: To plead desperately for help, action, or mercy.
implorer: To make a deeply urgent appeal for something.

Definition in French

Formuler une supplication intense, souvent introduite par «Je vous adjure de…» et suivie d'un infinitif exprimant la demande.

Word origin

French adjurer comes from Latin adjurare, formed with ad- and jurare, "to swear," and developed from oath-based appeals into a verb for intense pleading.

Usage tips

  • Adjurer normally takes de before an infinitive, as in "Je vous adjure de rester", rather than a bare infinitive.

Other meanings

  • pleadverb
  • imploreverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word