adjure

Syllables: ad·jureUK/əˈd͡ʒʊə//əˈd͡ʒʊ(ə)ɹ/

adjure verb: to formally command or request (someone) to do something, either in the name of a deity, or to suffer a curse or punishment if they do not comply; to bind (someone) under oath; to charge.

Verb

adjure (third-person singular simple present adjures, present participle adjuring, simple past and past participle adjured)

(transitive) To formally command or request (someone) to do something, either in the name of a deity, or to suffer a curse or punishment if they do not comply; to bind (someone) under oath; to charge.
- […] Caiaphas the high Prieſt adjureth him [Jesus] in the name of God, vvho is very God, euen the Sonne of God, vvhich ſhevves vvhat a ſmall account he makes of the name of God: for he did it onely to get aduantage on Chriſts vvords: and ſo doe many novve a-daies, vvho for a little profit or gaine...1595, William Perkins, “Christs Arraignement”, in An Exposition of the Symbole or Creed of the Apostles, According to the Tenour of the Scriptures, and the Content of Orthodoxe Fathers of the Church...
- And Joſhua adiured them at that time, ſaying, Curſed be the man before the Lord, that riſeth vp and buildeth this city Jericho: he ſhall lay the foundation therof in his firſt borne, and in his yongeſt ſonne ſhall hee ſet vp the gates of it.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Joshua 6:26, signature [U5], verso
(transitive) To earnestly advise or urge (someone); to exhort.
- Party members are adjured to promote awareness of this problem.
- […] Neſtor moſt / (The ſage Preſerver of the Grecian Hoſt) / Exhorts, adjures, to guard theſe utmoſt Shores; / And by their Parents, by themſelves, implores.1718, Homer, “Book XV”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume IV, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 197, lines 792–795
(transitive) To earnestly appeal to (someone, or a deity); to entreat, to implore.
- I adiure you ô daughters of Ieruſalem, by the roes, and the hartes of the fildes, that you rayſe not, nor make the beloued to avvake, vntil herſelfe vvil.1610, The Second Tome of the Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Laurence Kellam, […], →OCLC, Canticle of Canticles 2:7, page 336
- [H]ow thoroughly as with thy cheerful voice thou pleasantly adjurest Sam the hostler "not to let him go yet," dost thou believe that quadruped desires to go, and would go if he might?1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, “Containing a Full Account of the Installation of Mr. Pecksniff's New Pupil into the Bosom of Mr. Pecksniff's Family. With All the Festivities Held on that...
Synonyms:

beg, beseech, plead
(transitive) To summon (the Devil or an evil spirit); to invoke; also, to exorcize (the Devil or an evil spirit).
- The Prieſt ties his ſtole about the neck of the poſſeſſed vvith three knots, and ſays, […] I exorciſe you [evil spirits], and adjure you, and command you, by the povver I have, that you incontinently hear the vvords of my conjuring, and perceive your ſelves overcome, and command you not to depart...1664, Jeremy [Taylor], “The Church of Rome, as It is at this Day Disordered, Teaches Doctrines, and Uses Practises, which are in Themselves, or in Their True and Immediate Consequences, Direct...
(intransitive) To summon the Devil or an evil spirit; also, to exorcize the Devil or an evil spirit.
- His daily exerciſe is to exorciſe or adjure.1649, Richard Hodges, Most Plain Directions for True-writing: […], London: […] W. D. for Rich[ard] Hodges […]; [a]lso by Nicolas Bourn, […], published 1653, →OCLC, page 7

adjure meaning in Tamil, Bengali and Sanskrit

adjure in Tamil

ஆணை வழிப்படுத்து, சூளிட்டு ஏவு, ஆர்வத்துடன் வேண்டிக்கொள்

adjure in Bengali

অনুনয় করা, শপথ দিয়ে বলা

adjure in Sanskrit

to adjure, conjure, exorcise: शप् śap

Examples of adjure in a sentence

H.’s friends renders it by Thou execratedſt, or adjuredſt me.1751, Thomas Sharp, “אלה אלוה אלהים [These are Your Gods, O God]”, in Two Dissertations Concerning the Etymology and Scripture-meaning of...
The Rabbis adjured her to endow the young man with his former virility, but she vehemently refused to do so.1936, Rollo Ahmed, “The Church and Monastic Black Magic”, in The Black Art, London: John Long, →OCLC, page 50:

Synonyms of adjure

Forms of adjure

third-person singular present	adjures
present participle	adjuring
past participle	adjured
past	adjured
second-person singular present (archaic)	adjurest
second-person singular past (archaic)	adjuredst
third-person singular present (archaic)	adjureth

Origin of adjure

From Late Middle English adjuren (“to bind (oneself or someone) by oath to do something; to entreat or implore (someone); to question (someone) under oath”), from Anglo-Norman adjurer, Middle French adjurer, and Old French ajurer (“to bind (oneself or someone) under oath; to entreat or implore (someone)”) (modern French adjurer), and from their etymon Latin adiūrāre, the present active infinitive of adiūrō (“to take an oath”) (whence Late Latin adiūrō (“to entreat or implore (someone); to conjure; to exorcize”)), from ad- (prefix meaning ‘to, towards’, or having an intensifying effect) + iūrō (“to confirm formally; to take an oath”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- (“(adjective) straight; upright; (noun) justice, right; law”)). cognates * Italian adiurare * Old Occitan ajurar * Spanish ajurar (archaic), adjurar

Words formed from adjure

Words that rhyme with adjure

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about adjure

What does adjure mean?: Adjure means to formally command or request (someone) to do something, either in the name of a deity, or to suffer a curse or punishment if they do not comply; to bind (someone) under oath; to charge.
What is adjure in Tamil?: Adjure in Tamil is ஆணை வழிப்படுத்து, சூளிட்டு ஏவு, ஆர்வத்துடன் வேண்டிக்கொள். See Adjure meaning in Tamil.
How do you use adjure in a sentence?: H.’s friends renders it by Thou execratedſt, or adjuredſt me.
What part of speech is adjure?: Adjure is a verb.
How do you pronounce adjure?: Adjure is pronounced /əˈd͡ʒʊə/ (UK).
What is the past tense of adjure?: The past tense of adjure is adjured.

Words near adjure in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: adjure (page history and authors); adjure (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); adjure (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); शप् (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-adjure.wav.

Cite this entry: “adjure.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/adjure. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.