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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/
translation icon : 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 request
vsto ask for
∞ 1.0

To ask for something politely or formally

is a general expression of desire without special politeness
to seek
vsto ask for
981 1.0

Ask someone for information, advice, or help

focuses on expressing desire rather than actively trying to obtain
to beg
vsto ask for
417 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
369 3.3

Ask people in public to give or do something

is a private expression of desire rather than a public demand
to pray
vsto ask for
  • Archaic
256 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
232 3.9

Ask someone urgently and emotionally for something

is more neutral and lacks strong emotional appeal
to inquire
vsto ask for
  • Formal
107 3.0

To ask someone for information about something

is broader and covers desires beyond only information seeking
to solicit
vsto ask for
  • Formal
48 6.8

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

is neutral in tone and lacks formal earnest persistence
to beseech
vsto ask for
  • Formal
47 8.2

To ask someone earnestly for something

is less emotionally intense and more neutral in tone
to implore
vsto ask for
  • Formal
40 5.3

To ask someone very seriously to do or not do something

is a regular expression of desire without desperation
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
716 1.7

To say no to a request or offer

to withhold
210 5.1

Refuse to give something someone wants or needs

How Forceful

to demand
943 2.7
to insist
∞ 2.8
to beg
417 1.0
to ask for
∞ 1.0
to request
∞ 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'.