demand
demanded; demands; demanding
Demand means "an urgent request," like your demand that teachers give no homework on the weekend, or the act of making the request — teachers who demand that the work get done, even if it's the weekend.
Demand comes from the Old French word demander, meaning "ask, make inquiry." A demand is a lot stronger than that, however. When you demand something, you want action now. A demand can also mean "to require" like cold weather that demands warm coats and boots. Demand is also an economic term, meaning "the amount of an item that can be sold," like the demand for those snow boots: high in winter and nonexistent in summer.
Definitions of demand
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request urgently and forcefully“The victim's family is demanding compensation”“The boss demanded that he be fired immediately”“She demanded to see the manager”
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types:
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want
wish or demand the presence of
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ask, expect, require
consider obligatory; request and expect
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clamor, clamour
make loud demands
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dun
persistently ask for overdue payment
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ask
require or ask for as a price or condition
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call
require the presentation of for redemption before maturation
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ask to be informed of
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claim as due or just
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lay legal claim to
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type of:
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claim
ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example
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claim
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summon to court
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the act of demanding“the kidnapper's exorbitant demands for money”
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exaction
act of demanding or levying by force or authority
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claim
demand for something as rightful or due
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extortion
unjust exaction (as by the misuse of authority)
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insurance claim
demand for payment in accordance with an insurance policy
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type of:
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activity
any specific behavior
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an urgent or peremptory request“his demands for attention were unceasing”
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types:
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challenge
a demand by a sentry for a password or identification
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ultimatum
a final peremptory demand
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insistence, insisting
continual and persistent demands
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call, claim
a demand especially in the phrase "the call of duty"
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requisition
the act of requiring; an authoritative request or demand, especially by a military or public authority that takes something over (usually temporarily) for military or public use
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call
a demand for a show of hands in a card game
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call, margin call
a demand by a broker that a customer deposit enough to bring his margin up to the minimum requirement
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pay claim, wage claim
the wage demanded from management for workers by their union representatives
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purism
scrupulous or exaggerated insistence on purity or correctness (especially in language)
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type of:
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petition, postulation, request
a formal message requesting something that is submitted to an authority
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require as useful, just, or proper“This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice”
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claim, exact, take
take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs
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govern
require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood
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draw
require a specified depth for floating
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cost
require to lose, suffer, or sacrifice
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cry for, cry out for
need badly or desperately
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compel
necessitate or exact
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a condition requiring relief“there is a demand for jobs”
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synonyms:
need
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types:
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deficiency, lack, want
the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
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necessity
the condition of being essential or indispensable
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absence
the state of being absent
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dearth, famine, shortage
an acute insufficiency
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deficit
a deficiency or failure in neurological or mental functioning
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mineral deficiency
lack of a mineral micronutrient that is essential for normal nutrition or metabolism
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shortness
the condition of being short of something
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stringency, tightness
a state occasioned by scarcity of money and a shortage of credit
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requisiteness
the state of being absolutely required
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urgency
the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity
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the ability and desire to purchase goods and services“the automobile reduced the demand for buggywhips”“the demand exceeded the supply”
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Antonyms:
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supply
offering goods and services for sale
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types:
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consumption, economic consumption, usance, use, use of goods and services
(economics) the utilization of economic goods to satisfy needs or in manufacturing
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conspicuous consumption
buying expensive services and products in order to flaunt your wealth
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type of:
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economic process
any process affecting the production and development and management of material wealth
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supply
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required activity“there were many demands on his time”
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synonyms:
requirement
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type of:
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duty, obligation, responsibility
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
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duty, obligation, responsibility
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘demand'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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