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Ask vs Demand - What's the difference?

ask | demand |

As verbs the difference between ask and demand

is that ask is to request (information, or an answer to a question) while demand is to request forcefully.

As nouns the difference between ask and demand

is that ask is an act or instance of asking while demand is the desire to purchase goods and services.

As a proper noun Ask

is the first male human, according to the Poetic Edda.

ask

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) asken, from (etyl) .

Verb

(en verb)
  • To request (information, or an answer to a question).
  • I asked her age.
  • To put forward (a question) to be answered.
  • to ask a question
  • To interrogate or enquire of (a person).
  • I'm going to ask this lady for directions.
  • * Bible, John ix. 21
  • He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
  • To request or petition; usually with for .
  • to ask for a second helping at dinner
    to ask for help with homework
  • * Bible, Matthew vii. 7
  • Ask , and it shall be given you.
  • To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.
  • What price are you asking for the house?
  • * Addison
  • An exigence of state asks a much longer time to conduct a design to maturity.
  • To invite.
  • Don't ask them to the wedding.
  • To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
  • (Fuller)
  • (figuratively) To take (a person's situation) as an example.
  • *
  • Usage notes
    * This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See * Pronouncing ask as /æks/ is a common example of metathesis and a feature of some varieties of English, notably African American Vernacular English (AAVE). * The action expressed by the verb ask'' can also be expressed by the noun-verb combination ''pose a question'' (confer the parallel in German between ''fragen'' and ''eine Frage stellen ).
    Derived terms
    * ask after * ask around * ask for * ask in * ask out * ask over * ask round * for the asking * no questions asked * outask

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An act or instance of asking.
  • * 2005 , Laura Fredricks, The ask :
  • To ask for a gift is a privilege, a wonderful expression of commitment to and ownership of the organization. Getting a yes to an ask can be a rush, but asking for the gift can and should be just as rewarding.
  • Something asked or asked for; a request.
  • * 2008 , Doug Fields, Duffy Robbins, Speaking to Teenagers :
  • Communication researchers call this the foot-in-the-door syndrome. Essentially it's based on the observation that people who respond positively to a small “ask'” are more likely to respond to a bigger “' ask ” later on.
  • An asking price.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) aske, arske, from (etyl) .

    Alternative forms

    *

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An eft; newt.
  • * 1876 , S. Smiles, Scottish Naturalist :
  • He looked at the beast. It was not an eel. It was very like an ask .
  • A lizard.
  • Statistics

    *

    demand

    English

    Alternative forms

    * demaund, demaunde (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The desire to purchase goods and services.
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author= Michael Sivak
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Will AC Put a Chill on the Global Energy Supply? , passage=Nevertheless, it is clear that the global energy demand' for air-conditioning will grow substantially as nations become more affluent, with the consequences of climate change potentially accelerating the ' demand .}}
  • (economics) The amount of a good or service that consumers are willing to buy at a particular price.
  • A need.
  • A claim for something.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;
  • A requirement.
  • An urgent request.
  • An order.
  • (electricity supply) A measure of the maximum power load of a utility's customer over a short period of time; the power load integrated over a specified time interval.
  • Usage notes

    One can also make demands on someone. * See for uses and meaning of demand collocated with these words.

    Synonyms

    * (a requirement) imposition

    Derived terms

    * demand-driven * in demand * on demand

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To request forcefully.
  • To claim a right to something.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=55, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Obama goes troll-hunting , passage=According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.}}
  • To ask forcefully for information.
  • To require of someone.
  • (legal) To issue a summons to court.
  • Synonyms

    * * (ask strongly)