The act of asking humbly and earnestly for something, from someone with power or from God. It is the noun for what a supplicant does.

In religious language it is a standard term for a certain kind of prayer — not thanking, not praising, but asking. "a prayer of supplication", "he spent the night in supplication". Christian, Jewish and Muslim writing in English all use it this way, and you will find it in hymns and translated scripture.

Outside religion it describes desperate pleading: "letters of supplication to the governor", "she went to him in supplication". It can also name the physical posture — hands raised or spread open, the gesture of begging: "he lifted his hands in supplication".

The word is formal and literary. In ordinary English you would say begging, pleading, or asking. Choosing supplication instead adds weight and often distance — writers use it when they want the moment to feel solemn, ancient, or slightly humiliating.

It is usually uncountable, but you will also meet the plural supplications meaning the individual prayers or pleas someone makes.