plea

plea — 名詞

1. a strong request for help or action, expressed with clear feeling

1.名詞C2
釋義

懇求

帶強烈感情的請求

a strong request for help or action, expressed with clear feeling

例句

At the town meeting, residents made a plea for safer street lights.

在鎮民大會上，居民懇求增設更安全的路燈。

pattern: make a plea for + noun

A plea for help came over the camp radio at midnight.

半夜時，營地的無線電傳來求救訊息。

同義詞
  • appeal

    often sounds more public or organized, especially in news or charity contexts

  • request

    more neutral and less emotional

  • entreaty

    more literary and less common in everyday speech

  • begging

    more vivid and often suggests extreme desperation

文法句型

make a plea for + noun

plea to + person/authority + for + noun

plea to + verb

用法筆記

Often used with verbs like make, issue, hear, ignore, and answer, and commonly followed by for plus a noun or to plus a verb. Stronger and more emotional than the neutral word request.

常見錯誤

❌The villagers made a plea of help.
✅The villagers made a plea for help.
💡use 'for' before the thing wanted.

2. the formal statement by an accused person about the charge, usually saying guilt

2.名詞
釋義

答辯

被告對罪名的正式回答

the formal statement by an accused person about the charge, usually saying guilty or not guilty

例句

In court, Rosa entered a not guilty plea after the charge was read.

在法庭上，Rosa 在宣讀完罪名後提出無罪答辯。

pattern: enter a guilty/not guilty plea

The judge rejected his plea and set a trial date for June.

法官駁回了他的答辯，並把審判日期訂在六月。

同義詞
  • answer

    a broad legal word that can refer to many kinds of formal response

  • response

    general and not specifically tied to criminal court procedure

  • defence

    broader than plea and can include later arguments and evidence

文法句型

enter a guilty/not guilty plea

change your plea to guilty/not guilty

accept/reject a plea

用法筆記

Usually appears with verbs like enter, change, accept, reject, and withdraw, and often combines with guilty or not guilty. Distinguish from sense 1, which is a strong request for help or action rather than a legal response.

常見錯誤

❌The defendant said a not guilty plea.
✅The defendant entered a not guilty plea.
💡in legal English, the usual verb is 'enter'.