plea

noun

ˈplē How to pronounce plea (audio)
Synonyms of pleanext
1
: a legal suit or action
2
: an allegation made by a party in support of a cause: such as
a
: an allegation of fact compare demurrer entry 1
b(1)
: a defendant's answer to a plaintiff's declaration in common-law practice
(2)
: an accused person's answer to a charge or indictment in criminal practice
c
: a plea of guilty to an indictment
3
: something offered by way of excuse or justification
left early with the plea of a headache
4
: an earnest entreaty : appeal
their plea for understanding must be answered

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 
Choose the Right Synonym for plea

apology, apologia, excuse, plea, pretext, alibi mean matter offered in explanation or defense.

apology usually applies to an expression of regret for a mistake or wrong with implied admission of guilt or fault and with or without reference to mitigating or extenuating circumstances.

said by way of apology that he would have met them if he could

apologia implies not admission of guilt or regret but a desire to make clear the grounds for some course, belief, or position.

his speech was an apologia for his foreign policy

excuse implies an intent to avoid or remove blame or censure.

used illness as an excuse for missing the meeting

plea stresses argument or appeal for understanding or sympathy or mercy.

her usual plea that she was nearsighted

pretext suggests subterfuge and the offering of false reasons or motives in excuse or explanation.

used any pretext to get out of work

alibi implies a desire to shift blame or evade punishment and imputes mere plausibility to the explanation.

his alibi failed to stand scrutiny

Examples of plea in a Sentence

We are making a plea to all companies to stop polluting the environment. The defendant entered a plea of not guilty.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
After entering her guilty plea for filing false information to a law enforcement officer, she was sentenced to probation, court documents show, The Ledger reported. —Kc Baker, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024 The two-time All-Star catcher, who retired after the 2021 season following a 12-year career with nine teams, wrote a lengthy plea to eligible voters on . —Jon Paul Hoornstra, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024 Bolick signed on to a plea urging Arizonans to not sign the petition that eventually brought the issue to the ballot. —Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024 The strike began just over a month after CEO Kelly Ortberg took the helm of the company, which in 2024, had major issues with safety, a plea agreement and settlement for fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, and another labor dispute with its onsite firefighters. —Megan Poinski, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for plea 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English plaid, plait, ple "contention, dispute, legal conflict, lawsuit," borrowed from Anglo-French plait, pleit, plaid, plé "speech, discussion of affairs, argument, dispute, action at law" (also continental Old French), going back to early Medieval Latin placitum "liking, will, pleasure, opinion, belief, design, decision, agreement, contract, gathering at an agreed time, assembly to decide on matters of state, session of a law court, law court, action at law," going back to Latin, "opinion, belief, (in law) agreed condition," noun derivative from neuter of placitus, past participle of placēre "to be pleasing, find favor, find acceptance, commend itself, be agreed on" — more at please entry 1

Note: The Latin noun placitum is based on impersonal use of the verb placēre, as in sic placitum est "it was so resolved." In medieval bureaucracy placitum was subject to a semantic explosion—J. F. Niermeyer's Mediae Latinitatis lexicon minus, a concise dictionary of Medieval Latin, enters 26 senses for the word, some much more common than others. It was adopted early in Gallo-Romance, and in the later Middle Ages pleit, ple, etc., remained a common word in Anglo-French and Middle English, particularly in the legal realm.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of plea was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing plea

Dictionary Entries Near plea

PLC

plea

plea bargaining

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Plea.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plea. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

plea

noun
ˈplē How to pronounce plea (audio)
1
: a defendant's answer to a lawsuit or to a criminal charge
a plea of guilty
2
: something offered as an excuse
left early with the plea of a headache
3
: an earnest appeal
a plea for mercy

Legal Definition

plea

noun
ˈplē How to pronounce plea (audio)
1
a
: an allegation of fact in civil litigation made in response to a claim compare demurrer
b
: a defendant's answer to a plaintiff's claim in civil litigation

Note: Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and in states where they have been adopted, civil pleas are abolished, and answers and motions are used instead. Such pleas were used at common law.

— dilatory plea \ ˈdi-​lə-​ˌtōr-​ē-​ \
: a common-law plea which is intended to defeat the pending action or proceeding without involving any decision on the merits of the case
— plea in abatement
: a plea entered by a party seeking postponement or dismissal of an action by setting forth some matter or defect regarding procedure, jurisdiction, or timing

called also plea of abatement

— plea in bar
: a plea that alleges the existence of an absolute bar (as a statute of limitations) to an action
— plea of abatement
: plea in abatement in this entry
2
a
: an accused party's answer to a criminal charge or indictment
b
: a plea of guilty
3
: an earnest entreaty
Etymology

Anglo-French plei, plai legal action, trial, from Old French plait, plaid, from Medieval Latin placitum, from Latin, decision, decree, from neuter of placitus, past participle of placēre to please, be decided

More from Merriam-Webster on plea

Nglish: Translation of plea for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of plea for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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