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Glite Dictionary
🙋 To request ⚠️ To invite trouble
to ask for

to ask for

∞ 1.0
To tell someone you want or need something
  • phrasal verb
  • /æsk fɔr/
: pedir
  • This is what happens when you ask for chips in America.
  • ask for help
  • ask for permission
  • ask for information

What more could you ask for my guy?

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Examples

Synonyms

to beg
vsto ask for
∞ 1.0

Ask someone very seriously and urgently for something

is a general expression of wanting without urgent desperation
to call for
vsto ask for
∞ 3.3

Ask people in public to give or do something

is a private expression of desire rather than a public demand
to request
vsto ask for
808 1.0

To ask for something politely or formally

is a general expression of desire without special politeness
to seek
vsto ask for
227 1.0

Ask someone for information, advice, or help

focuses on expressing desire rather than actively trying to obtain
to pray
vsto ask for
  • Archaic
167 1.6

To beg someone urgently and humbly for something

is secular and neutral rather than humble or reverent in tone
to plead
vsto ask for
143 3.9

Ask someone urgently and emotionally for something

is more neutral and lacks strong emotional appeal
to inquire
vsto ask for
  • Formal
110 3.0

To ask someone for information about something

is broader and covers desires beyond only information seeking
to solicit
vsto ask for
  • Formal
72 6.8

To ask people for something, often in a formal or persistent way

is neutral in tone and lacks formal earnest persistence
to implore
vsto ask for
  • Formal
46 5.3

To ask someone very seriously to do or not do something

is a regular expression of desire without desperation
to beseech
vsto ask for
  • Formal
39 8.2

To ask someone earnestly for something

is less emotionally intense and more neutral in tone
to entreat
vsto ask for
  • Formal
12 8.1

Ask someone in a serious, emotional way to do something

is a calmer, more neutral expression of wanting something

Antonyms

to refuse
∞ 1.7

To say no to a request or offer

to withhold
204 5.1

Refuse to give something someone wants or needs

How Forceful

to demand
923 2.7
to insist
∞ 2.8
to beg
∞ 1.0
to ask for
∞ 1.0
to request
808 1.0

Surface Forms

ask for infinitive
asked for past
asked for past participle
asking for present participle
asks for third person singular

Morphology

ask + for

The verb 'ask' combined with 'for' is used metaphorically here to mean 'invite' or 'bring about', so knowing the constituents gives a partial clue to the idea of causing something. However, the specific idiomatic collocation 'ask for trouble' (i.e. behave so as to make trouble likely) is a metaphorical extension that is not fully predictable from the parts and typically requires exposure, so it is only partially transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

Ask for comes from the simple image of going to someone and using ask with for to name what you want, like holding out your hands to request it. So it means 'to request' or 'to say you want something'.