require
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to have need of; need.
He requires medical care.
-
to call on authoritatively; order or enjoin to do something.
to require an agent to account for money spent.
-
to ask for authoritatively or imperatively; demand.
- Antonyms:
- forgo
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to impose need or occasion for; make necessary or indispensable.
The work required infinite patience.
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to call for or exact as obligatory; ordain.
The law requires annual income-tax returns.
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to place under an obligation or necessity.
The situation requires me to take immediate action.
- Synonyms:
- necessitate, obligate
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Chiefly British. to desire; wish to have.
Will you require tea at four o'clock?
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to have need of; depend upon; want
-
to impose as a necessity; make necessary
this work requires precision
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(also intr) to make formal request (for); insist upon or demand, esp as an obligation
-
to call upon or oblige (a person) authoritatively; order or command
to require someone to account for his actions
Usage
What are other ways to say require? To require something is to have a need for it or to ask for it authoritatively. How does require compare to synonyms want, need, and lack? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Related Words
See demand.
Other Word Forms
- nonrequirable adjective
- prerequire verb (used with object)
- quasi-required adjective
- requirable adjective
- requirer noun
- unrequired adjective
Etymology
Origin of require
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English requiren, from Latin requīrere, equivalent to re- re- ( def. ) + -quīrere, combining form of quaerere “to seek, search for”; quest ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hunter says the government believes patients want access, pointing to changes in October requiring practices to keep online consultation systems open from 08:30 to 18:30 Monday to Friday.
From BBC
“This fateful operation will continue as long as necessary, and it requires patience,” Netanyahu said.
"It's about the feeling at that precise moment," Wyn Morgan says, "how it makes you feel emotionally," rather than something more scientific which requires you to know about everything you see.
From BBC
Unlike formal declarations of war that historically required approval from Congress under Article I of the U.S.
From Salon
Passed by the National Assembly in December, the law focuses on the risks posed by generative AI, requiring human oversight and control along the lines of the European Union's landmark AI Act.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
