pleading

Universal Words noun 1 [C,U] an act of asking for sth that you want very much, in an emotional way: He refused to give in to her pleadings. 2 [C,usually pl.] (law) a formal statement of sb's CASE (= their claims and the arguments they use to support them) in a court of law seealsoSPECIALPLEADING