How to Use behest in a Sentence

behest

noun
  • I only made the change at the author's behest.
  • At the behest of her friends, Crollman started a blog.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Norman’s body was never found; the gold was hidden at his behest.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 June 2020
  • Is a fighter someone who takes up arms at the behest of their government?
    — Dominic Taylor, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2024
  • And then starts working as a stripper at the behest of her abusive husband.
    — Andy Meek, BGR, 6 July 2022
  • The event was not organized at the behest of the Biden campaign.
    — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 22 Oct. 2020
  • Lind asserts that this was done at the behest of Southern Democrats.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2021
  • Chrissy Teigen didn't either but tried a sample size at the behest of a friend.
    — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 12 Nov. 2020
  • The child had been cropped out of the photo at the behest of Walshe’s defense team.
    — Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 4 Dec. 2025
  • At Martins’s behest, but without protest, Bob left the board.
    — Alastair MacAulay, New York Times, 23 June 2023
  • Urban got help at a treatment center at the behest of Kidman and his friends.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Even the rental building in the complex got stripped of its lettering at the tenants’ behest.
    — Kim Velsey, Curbed, 29 Jan. 2025
  • In this case, though, the hackers are not known to be working at the behest of any foreign government.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 10 May 2021
  • Perhaps the spoon-feeding is done at the behest of pre-tween audiences swooning along with the adults in the room.
    — Courtney Howard, Variety, 20 Jan. 2022
  • Cherones left the show at the behest of its star, Jerry Seinfeld.
    — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2026
  • Lake Oswego was among the first districts to shutter at the behest of the school board last March.
    — oregonlive, 18 Jan. 2021
  • That’s because Millar had trained for this, at the behest of Marsch himself.
    — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 17 June 2026
  • So to remove them at the behest of a complainant privileges the viewpoint of the complainant.
    — Taylor Goldenstein, San Antonio Express-News, 6 Dec. 2021
  • Did the pen name come at the behest of your publisher to distinguish from your YA work?
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 13 May 2020
  • The film opens four years after Nike went public, a move that puts Phil at the behest of an omniscient board.
    — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2023
  • There is no distinction for a behest given to a charity with direct ties to the politician, but maybe there should be.
    — Anita Chabria, Mercury News, 25 June 2026
  • There is no distinction for a behest given to a charity with direct ties to the politician, but maybe there should be.
    — Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026
  • Many of the changes to in-flight food service have been made at the behest of the nation’s flight attendants, who have been hard hit by the pandemic.
    — Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2021
  • That investigation came at the behest of Cornyn.
    — Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
  • They were initially charged with felony rioting, but those charges were dropped at the behest of prosecutors.
    — Quinlan Bentley, Cincinnati Enquirer, 2 Oct. 2025
  • The vast cost-cutting and redundancy programme of the past 18 months was carried out at his behest.
    — Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
  • At the behest of his lawyer Ilene Farkas, Sheeran explained the writing process behind the song.
    — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2023
  • The Thunder drafted Conwell at the Heat’s behest.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 25 June 2026
  • Because liberal politicians, at the behest of big insurers, designed it that way.
    — Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Russell made significant snips at the studio’s behest at the time, though the film still received an X rating.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 22 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'behest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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