pray

Verb

Verb Forms: prayed, praying, prays

To address prayers to a deity; to make a fervent request.
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
- "pray to the Lord"
call upon in supplication; entreat
To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc.
To humbly beg a person for aid or their time.
To ask earnestly for; to seek to obtain by supplication; to entreat for.
To wish or hope strongly for a particular outcome.
To implore, to entreat, to request.

Adv

Please; used to make a polite request
Alternative form of pray tell (“I ask you”).

Examples

I PRAY my opponent doesn’t draw the blank tile after I opened up that triple-word spot.
Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca.
pray silence for…
She is praying that the Red Sox will win tonight.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English preien, from Anglo-Norman preier, from Old French preier, proier (French prier), from Latin precārī, from prex, precis (“a prayer, a request”), from Proto-Italic *preks, from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask, woo”). Displaced native Old English gebiddan.
Cognate via Indo-European of Old English frignan, fricgan, German fragen, Dutch vragen. Compare deprecate, imprecate, precarious.

Synonyms

beg, implore

Scrabble Score: 9

pray: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
pray: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
pray: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

pray: valid Words With Friends Word