Requesting (6)
I believe the answer is:
asking
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">requesting</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">('ask' can be a synonym of 'request')</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for asking that I've seen before include "Directing a question" , "Enquiring" , "Putting question or requesting" , "Demanding" , "Posing a question" .)