Link Centre Dictionary

solicit

so·li·cit

UK/səˈlɪsɪt/ US/sʌˈlɪsɪt/ uncommon archaic obsolete rare

verb

1.

make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently

  • “Henry IV solicited the Pope for a divorce”
  • “My neighbor keeps soliciting money for different charities”
Synonyms
2.

make amorous advances towards

  • “John is courting Mary”
3.

approach with an offer of sexual favors

  • “he was solicited by a prostitute”
  • “The young man was caught soliciting in the park”
Synonyms
4.

incite, move, or persuade to some act of lawlessness or insubordination

  • “He was accused of soliciting his colleagues to destroy the documents”
5.

make a solicitation or petition for something desired

  • “She is too shy to solicit”

Origin

From Middle English soliciten, solliciten, from Old French soliciter, solliciter, borrowed from Latin sollicitō (“stir, disturb; look after”), from sollicitus (“agitated, anxious, punctilious”, literally “thoroughly moved”), from sollus (“whole, entire”) + perfect passive participle of cieō (“shake, excite, cite, to put in motion”).

Related words

Broader terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.