appeal

n.

1. A plea

   request, plea, bid, claim, suit, submission, solicitation, petition, question, imploring, recourse, entreaty, prayer, invocation, supplication, address, demand, importunity, call, requisition, application, overture, proposition, proposal, call for aid, earnest request, adjuration.

   Antonyms denial*, refusal*, renunciation. *

2. Action to carry a case to a higher court

   petition, motion, application, request for retrial, request for review.

3. Attractiveness

   attractiveness, attraction, charm, glamour, interest, allure, charmingness, seductiveness, engagingness, winsomeness, desirability, fascination, magnetism, charisma, sex appeal.

appeal

v.

1. To ask another seriously

   entreat, request, petition, implore, beseech, plead, solicit, beg, supplicate, importune, urge, adjure, pray, sue; see also beg 1.

2. To carry a case to a higher court

   apply for a retrial, retry, contest, bring new evidence, advance, reopen, refer to, review.

3. To attract

   interest, attract, engage, fascinate, tempt, tantalize, awaken a response, invite, entice, allure, captivate, intrigue, attract one's interest, enchant, beguile, please, catch one's eye; see also fascinate.

appeal implies an earnest, sometimes urgent request and in legal usage connotes resort to a higher court or authority; plead, applied to formal statements in court answering to allegations or charges, carries into general usage the implication of entreaty by argument she pleaded for tolerance; sue implies respectful or formal solicitation for redress, a favor, etc.; petition implies a formal request, usually in writing and in accordance with established rights; pray and supplicate suggest humility in entreaty and imply that the request is addressed to God or to a superior authority, supplicate in addition suggesting a kneeling or other abjectly prayerful attitude