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According to Cambridge dictionary a request is

the act of politely or officially asking for something

However, the phrase "I request immediate" seems to be less polite and more demanding in tone. Is it the right way to interpret the meaning of this phrase?

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  • I would expect 'X' to stand for something like 'assistance' or 'back-up'. The phrase might be used by a police officer witnessing an accident, when they radio for colleagues or paramedics to come quickly to support them.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 9:59
  • The X is a placeholder, be it a cup of coffee or an invasion. Doesn't matter for the question.
    – Bartors
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 11:23
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    Yes, I know the X is a placeholder - but "I request an immediate cup of coffee" is not very idiomatic, while "Request immediate assistance" is, in the context I described.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 11:31

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I think most people would agree with you - adding a deadline to a request (especially "immediate"!) does make it sound more 'demanding'. But 'demanding' as an adjective is quite different from 'demanding' as a verb. When you describe a person or a request as 'demanding' you are referring to the nature of it - the way the person behaves, or the way in which the request has been phrased. It doesn't change a request into a demand.

When someone issues a demand, the inference is that the recipient of the demand has no choice as to whether they respond or not. To be in a position to demand something there may be some kind of right to expect that demand. By contrast, a 'request' is an 'ask' - it isn't tacit that the request can or will be fulfilled. That said, some people to pose demands as requests - this can be seen as a passive aggressive approach.

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  • >That said, some people to pose demands as requests The opposite may be true, right? That is, pose a request as an demand. What I mean by it is to make a "demand" that you are in no situation to make and in fact are just issuing an unpolite request?
    – Bartors
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 11:27
  • @Bartors Sure, but it isn't valid as a demand. If a stranger knocks at your door and demands to come in, you don't have to consider it as either a demand or as a request. But if you were employed and your boss 'requested' you do something, you are pretty much under compulsion to do it (if you want to keep your job). So that's the difference.
    – Astralbee
    Commented Nov 17, 2022 at 19:34
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It's possible for "I request immediate X" to be either a polite request or a polite demand.

Let's first clarify and say that a "request" is asking for something that you might be refused, and "demanding" is asking for something that you cannot be refused.

There's pretty much no polite way to use the verb "demand" when demanding something, no matter who you are or who you're demanding from. One natural way to politely demand something in English is to use the verb "request". The context alone indicates whether it's a request or a demand.

From a customer in a restaurant, for instance, "I request to see the kitchen" is likely a request because a restaurant could easily refuse customers access to the kitchen. But if a health inspector says the same thing, it's clearly a demand because health inspectors have to be given access to the kitchen.

Using the verb "request" is just a formal way of saying "Could you..." or "I'd like to..." etc.. With those forms of request, if they come from your boss, they're polite demands, not requests.

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