[re.quire] vb re.quired ; re.quir.ing [ME requeren, fr. MF requerre, fr. (assumed) VL requaerere to seek for, need, require, alter. of L requirere, fr. re- + quaerere to seek, ask] vt (14c) 1 a: to claim or ask for by right and authority b archaic: request
2. a: to call for as suitable or appropriate "the occasion ~s formal dress" b: to demand as necessary or essential: have a compelling need for "all living beings ~ food"
3: to impose a compulsion or command on: compel
4. chiefly Brit: to feel or be obliged--used with a following infinitive "one does not ~ to be a specialist --Elizabeth Bowen" ~ vi, archaic: ask syn see demand