beg

v.

1. To ask earnestly or importunately

   entreat, implore, beseech, ask, supplicate, crave, solicit, pray for, urge, plead, sue, importune, petition, apply to, request, press, call on, call upon, appeal to, requisition, conjure, adjure, apostrophize, canvass; see also ask 1.

   Antonyms order, concede, accede.

2. To ask alms

   appeal to, ask alms, live on charity, panhandle*, clamor for, solicit*, seek alms, solicit charity, want*, starve*, go from door to door, live from hand to mouth, mendicate, cadge*, mooch*, bum*, sponge*, scrounge*, chisel*, touch*, make a touch*, put the touch on*, hit*, hit up*, pass the hat, pass the cup*.

   Antonyms give*, bestow*, endow.

beg implies humbleness or earnestness in asking for something and is now often used in polite formulas I beg to differ; solicit suggests courtesy and formality in petitioning for something we solicit your aid or a general canvassing to solicit donations; entreat implies the use of all the persuasive power at one's command; beseech suggests fervor or passion in the asking and connotes anxiety over the outcome; implore is stronger still, suggesting desperation or great distress; importune suggests persistence in entreating, often to the point of becoming troublesome or annoying

beg the question

go begging