BEHEST Synonyms: 35 Similar and Opposite Words

behest

noun

bi-ˈhest

Definition of behest

as in edict

a statement of what to do that must be obeyed by those concerned I only made the change at the author's behest

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of behest She only got involved at the behest of a friend, a Rainbow Park cafeteria worker, who frantically approached her before school started one morning. — Austin Horn august 11, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2026 Now, at the behest of police and firefighter unions across California, state lawmakers are pushing through legislation to unwind parts of Brown’s changes. — Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026 Three other senior executives at the company have since died in mysterious circumstances, presumptively at the behest of the Russian government, including a former chairman who fell out of a hospital window. — Kimon De Greef, Longreads, 4 Aug. 2026 The people who joined were not there at the behest of a political organization but were drawn, like pilgrims to hip pilgrimage sites, by the promise of an insurrectionary pleasure. — Asim Ali, Time, 1 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for behest

Recent Examples of Synonyms for behest

Noun

Countless speakers left the Pale of Settlement – the territory in Eastern Europe where Jews had been granted permission to live under an edict of the Russian czars.

— Ilan Stavans, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026
The president’s orders and edicts have no basis in reality, are nonsensical and are making our nation significantly less safe.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of edict

Noun

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have uncovered a new processor attack that can bypass defenses in Intel and AMD chips by exploiting a security gap lasting only a handful of instructions.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
John’s hacking skills prove useful, as does the T-800’s extensive firepower—although per John’s instructions, there are zero human fatalities.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of instruction

Noun

If the teams refuse to enroll the players who benefit from the TRO, those players could petition Hoffman to clarify that his order also blocks the SEC from punishing schools.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 29 Aug. 2026
The draft order was picked at random, but the league’s players didn’t pick a number out of a hat or see who could hit a golf shot closest to a hole.

— Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of order

Noun

The technology was also tested against deceptive behaviour, an in a different scenario, fishing boats appeared to retreat while vessels from another direction accelerated toward the coastguard ship.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
Despite years passing and their lives moving in different directions, the four come together and remember how beautiful and essential their friendship was and is.

— Kara Nesvig, Parents, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of direction

Noun

Justice Department attorneys have argued that a restraining order would be inappropriate and that the legal challenge was premature, as federal agencies had yet to issue public guidance on how the president's directive would be implemented.

— Kristina Cooke, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
Nearly one-third of Americans vote by mail and election officials contend there isn’t enough time to revise their systems to comply with the new Postal Service directives.

— Lindsay Whitehurst, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of directive

Noun

Talwani, nominated to the bench by former President Obama, reluctantly removed the second injunction shortly after.

— Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
The agency initially said the rule would not apply to the midterm election unless injunctions from lower courts were lifted; those were both lifted this week.

— Caitlin Babcock, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of injunction

Browse Nearby Words

behemoths

behest

behests

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“Behest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behest. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of behest

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