I. ˈask, ˈaa(ə)-, ˈai-, ˈȧ-, chiefly substand -st verb
( asked -s(k)t, before a word (esp consonant-initial) following without pause, often -sk ; asked “ ; asking -skiŋ, chiefly substand -stiŋ or -stə̇n ; asks -sks, chiefly substand -s(t)s)
Etymology: Middle English asken, axen, from Old English āscian, ācsian to ask, demand; akin to Old Frisian āskia to demand, Old Saxon ēscon, Old High German eiscōn to ask, Latin aeruscare to beg, Greek himeros longing, Sanskrit icchati he seeks, desires
transitive verb
1.
a. : to call upon for an answer or informative response : put a question to : inquire of
he asked him about his trip
b. : to seek to be informed about : put a question about : inquire concerning
the two or three people of whom I asked his whereabouts — Scott Fitzgerald
c. : to speak or utter (a question or a request for information)
he never asks foolish questions
2.
a. : to make a request of : beg , petition
they asked him to be quiet
b. : to make a request for : seek by words to obtain
she asked help from her teacher
he asked advice of several friends
3. : to call for : need , require
it asks some strenuous agility to keep them both in the mind together — Donald Davie
4. archaic : to make known publicly : publish
the day when I shall ask the banns — Shakespeare
5. : to set as a price : demand , expect
the dealer asked $2000 for the car
6. : to extend an invitation to : invite
we asked him to come to lunch
intransitive verb
1. : to seek information : make inquiries : inquire
he asked about your job
he asked for the owner
he asked after the old man's health
2. : to make a request : seek , petition
they asked for food and lodging
3. : to seek or invite punishment or retaliation
if you do that you're just asking for trouble
— often used with following phrase for it
the Nazis and the Fascists have asked for it and they are going to get it — F.D.Roosevelt
Synonyms:
inquire , query , question , interrogate , examine , quiz , catechize : ask is a general and colorless term suggesting mainly the placing of a single question in order to gain information. It may verge onto connoting seeking or requesting
where lies the land to which your ship must go … yet still I ask, what haven is her mark? — William Wordsworth
an increasing number were asking many things from philosophy — H.O.Taylor
inquire in this sense is likely to indicate an honest request for information, a question asked solely to lead to enlightening the questioner on the matter ostensibly under primary consideration
my literary conscience … inquires if ideas were really free at Oxford — Ellen Glasgow
query indicates asking for an answer which clarifies, substantiates, removes doubt from the questioner's mind
the anthropologist, on the other hand, might query the statement — J.F.Embree
question heightens the implication that the questioner finds an assertion or notion doubtful, unconvincing, and perhaps incorrect
Newsweek's incoming mail sacks bulge. Some letters query, others question facts — Newsweek
even today questioning a statement made by a person is often taken by him as a reflection upon his integrity, and is resented — John Dewey
To question a person is to keep asking him searching questions
question the committee about the deficit
interrogate may suggest systematic and thorough questions; it implies, however, a simple search for facts and indicates nothing about the attitude of the questioner
he had landed on the Arno and interrogated the natives with the help of an interpreter — John Dos Passos
examine , in reference to things, is a synonym for inspect rather than for question; in reference to persons, it may suggest either detailed questions intended to discover the correctness of a person's conduct or beliefs or the scope of his knowledge or abilities, the examiner often having knowledge of the correct or preferred answers
where he had himself examined for three days by the learned and the wise king of Naples — R.A.Hall b. 1911
quiz suggests the asking of a series of questions by one knowing the answers in order to test another's knowledge; it may suggest a lighter, more casual, less significant procedure than examine
quizzed by feature writers in magazines — G.A.Miller
catechize , which often pertains to matters religious, may suggest systemic, rapid questioning, often calling for answers by rote, to verify accuracy, correctness, or orthodoxy of another's notions, and to trip him up if possible
the awkward situation in which you found yourself on receiving a visit from an authoress whose works though presented to you … you had never read … I hope she catechized you well — William Cowper
Synonyms:
ask , request , solicit mean, in a common application, to try to obtain by making one's wants known. ask implies little more than the statement of the desire
ask the cooperation of all concerned
what more can be asked of books than that they provoke laughter, more reading, discussion, a pilgrimage — D.S.Davis
request implies more formality, greater display of courtesy, and anticipation of affirmative response
request the cooperation of neighboring towns in the control of Dutch elm disease
request a meeting to discuss common problems and the possibility of mutual help
requesting that Italy be given the trusteeship of that territory — Collier's Year Book
16 nations requesting aid under the European Recovery Program — Current Biography
solicit , in modern use and in this connection, commonly means no more than calling attention to one's wants or desires
solicit trade or patronage by advertisement
solicit funds for flood relief
our interest is solicited by the characters themselves rather than by anything that they do — A.J.Ayer
II. ˈask noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English aske, ascre, from Old English āthexe (akin to Old High German egidehsa, Old Saxon egithassa, Middle Dutch haghedisse ), from ā- (perhaps akin to Greek ophis snake) + -thexe (perhaps akin to Middle High German dehse spindle) — more at angius
dialect Britain water newt