Pray
[preɪ] or [pre]
Definition
(verb.) address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer; 'pray to the Lord'.
Checked by Clive--From WordNet
Definition
(n. & v.) See Pry.
(v. i.) To make request with earnestness or zeal, as for something desired; to make entreaty or supplication; to offer prayer to a deity or divine being as a religious act; specifically, to address the Supreme Being with adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving.
(v. t.) To address earnest request to; to supplicate; to entreat; to implore; to beseech.
(v. t.) To ask earnestly for; to seek to obtain by supplication; to entreat for.
(v. t.) To effect or accomplish by praying; as, to pray a soul out of purgatory.
Inputed by Doris
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Ask (earnestly), request, entreat, beseech, supplicate, implore, beg, petition, invoke, conjure, ADJURE, call upon.
v. n. Supplicate, entreat, petition, beg, importune, prefer a petition or request.
Checked by Jeannette
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Beg, beseech, entreat, implore, solicit, supplicate, adjure, invoke, crave,[See BESEECH]
Typed by Brandon
Definition
v.i. to ask earnestly: to entreat: to speak and make known one's desires to God.—v.t. to ask earnestly and reverently as in worship: to supplicate: to get by praying:—pr.p. prāy′ing; pa.t. and pa.p. prāyed.—ns. Pray′er the act of praying: entreaty: the words used: solemn giving of thanks and praise to God and a making known of our requests to Him: a form of prayer used in worship: a petition to a public body; Pray′er-book a book containing prayers or forms of devotion.—adj. Pray′erful full of or given to prayer: praying much or often: devotional.—adv. Pray′erfully.—n. Pray′erfulness.—adj. Pray′erless without or not using prayer.—adv. Pray′erlessly.—ns. Pray′erlessness; Pray′er-meet′ing a shorter and simpler form of public religious service in which laymen often take part; Pray′er-mong′er one who prays mechanically; Pray′er-rug a small carpet on which a Moslem kneels at prayer; Pray′ing the act of making a prayer: a prayer made.—adj. given to prayer.—ns. Pray′ing-machine′ -mill -wheel a revolving apparatus used for prayer in Tibet and elsewhere.
Typist: Randall
Unserious Contents or Definition
v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.
Editor: Sweeney
Examples
- Pray Heaven that I am going away from, have compassion on my uncle! Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- He thought of Miss Ophelia's letter to his Kentucky friends, and would pray earnestly that God would send him deliverance. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Hush, hush, ma'am; pray keep yourself quiet,' replied the bodyguard. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- But pray, Colonel, how came you to conjure out that I should be in town today? Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Meantime, watch and pray that you enter not into temptation: the spirit, I trust, is willing, but the flesh, I see, is weak. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- If God would give me back my children, then I could pray. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Pray ask him for them, and keep them for me, together with the rest. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Oh, all he longed, all he prayed for, was that I might live with him! Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- As he stood in the doorway, the poor old careworn wayworn woman burst into tears, and clasped her hands, as if in a very agony she prayed to him. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- It would have been very like a Christian, and a marvellously good Christian too, if Oliver had prayed for the people who fed and took care of _him_. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- He was to be told (said Monseigneur) that supper awaited him then and there, and that he was prayed to come to it. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- O dearest Charles, let me thank God for this on my knees as I have prayed to Him. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- I prayed them to save even from himself this scion of the noblest family in England. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- She knelt down and prayed by his bedside, as he did too, having still hold of her hand. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The priest was standing, and those who were left were kneeling in a half circle around him and they were all praying. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- I have none o' yer bawling, praying, singing niggers on my place; so remember. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- We entered, and the pilgrims broke specimens from the foundation walls, though they had to touch, and even step, upon the praying carpets to do it. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- She was evidently in a condition of great suffering, and Tom often heard her praying, as she wavered and trembled, and seemed about to fall down. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Sick people can't bear so much praying and preaching. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- So, the sunrise came, and the shadows of the leaves of the plane-tree moved upon his face, as softly as her lips had moved in praying for him. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- That is past praying for, said Augustine; educated they will be, and we have only to say how. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- He loves the idol he serves, and prays day and night that his frenzy may be fed, and that the Ox-eyed may smile on her votary. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I couldn't undo what was done; and when he begs and prays, “Old pardner, on my knees, don't split upon me! Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I can say no more, but blessings, blessings on all in the dear house I leave, prays Your affectionate and GRATEFUL Rebecca Crawley. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- A Jew stands without the gate, noble and reverend father, said the Squire, who prays to speak with brother Brian de Bois-Guilbert. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- She prays there as the light goes out, prays with an humble heart, and walks home shrinking and silent. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
Checked by Llewellyn