Petition Meaning
/pəˈtɪʃ.ən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA formal written request made by an individual or a group of people to a sovereign or political authority, often containing many signatures, soliciting some grace, right, mercy, or the redress of some wrong or grievance.
nounA formal written application made to a magistrate or court for an order or a suit for divorce.
Sentence Examples
I addressed a petition to the mayor.
I thought it strange that the petition had been turned down.
Would you like to sign our petition against experiments on animals?
CEFR Practice Quiz
The group gathered signatures for a ____ to stop the construction of a new highway.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Over ten thousand people signed the ____ calling on the council to preserve the historic building.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French peticiun, from stem of Latin petitio, petitionem (“a request, solicitation”), from petere (“to require, seek, go forward”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A house of prayer and petition for thy people."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Maccabees 7:37:
"The company, appreciating the crippling affect ^([sic]) that this scheme will have on its activities unless the railway is diverted, has petitioned against the North Wales Hydro-Electric Power Bill at present before the House of Lords."
— 1955 April, “Notes and News: Restoring the Festiniog Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 288:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The group gathered signatures for a ____ to stop the construction of a new highway.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Over ten thousand people signed the ____ calling on the council to preserve the historic building.