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Definitions

require

[ri-kwahyuhr] / rɪˈkwaɪər /
VERB
need, want
Synonyms
STRONGEST
lack
STRONG
crave desire miss wish
WEAK
depend upon feel necessity for have need hurting for stand in need
Antonyms
STRONG
dislike hate not want
WEAK
have
VERB
ask, demand; necessitate
Synonyms
STRONGEST
call for cause compel demand expect instruct involve obligate oblige order request take
STRONG
beg beseech bid challenge claim command constrain crave direct enjoin entail exact postulate requisition solicit
WEAK
assert oneself call upon insist upon look for push for
Antonyms
STRONGEST
disallow give let off offer reply stop
STRONG
answer
WEAK
dislike have not want

Usage

What are other ways to say require? The verb require, which expresses necessity, occurs most frequently in serious or formal contexts: Your presence at the hearing is required. Successful experimentation requires careful attention to detail. Lack means to be without or to have less than a desirable quantity of something: to lack courage, sufficient money, enough members to make a quorum. Need often suggests urgency, stressing the necessity of supplying what is lacking: to need an operation, better food, a match to light the fire.

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.

If the banks can’t give satisfactory answers, banking supervisors should require them to set capital aside as if the answer were the worst plausible one.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

Weakening the ELN would require cooperation with Caracas, Colombian officials and analysts said, but Venezuela’s military simply isn’t equipped to take on the group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

These areas require detecting extremely small changes in the phase of light, making the new technique especially valuable.

From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026

A big question will be whether Ternus has "the appetite for the kind of bold, occasionally uncomfortable decisions" that defining an Apple AI platform will require.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

I loved the simulation setup that didn’t require months of study.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Vocabulary lists containing require

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

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Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 81-90

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Quartering Act (1765)

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