want

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
(wŏnt, wônt) pronunciation

v., want·ed, want·ing, wants.

v.tr.
    1. To desire greatly; wish for: They want to leave. She wants a glass of water. See synonyms at desire.
    2. To desire (someone to do something): I want you to clean your room.
    1. To request the presence or assistance of: You are wanted by your office.
    2. To seek with intent to capture: The fugitive is wanted by the police.
  1. To have an inclination toward; like: Say what you want, but be tactful.
  2. Informal. To be obliged (to do something): You want to be careful on the ice.
  3. To be without; lack. See synonyms at lack.
  4. To be in need of; require: "'Your hair wants cutting,' said the Hatter" (Lewis Carroll).
v.intr.
  1. To have need: wants for nothing.
  2. To be destitute or needy.
  3. To be disposed; wish: Call me daily if you want.
n.
  1. The condition or quality of lacking something usual or necessary: stayed home for want of anything better to do.
  2. Pressing need; destitution: lives in want.
  3. Something desired: a person of few wants and needs.
  4. A defect of character; a fault.
phrasal verbs:

want in Slang.

  1. To desire greatly to enter: The dog wants in.
  2. To wish to join a project, business, or other undertaking.
want out Slang.
  1. To desire greatly to leave: The cat wants out.
  2. To wish to leave a project, a business, or other undertaking.

[Middle English wanten, to be lacking, from Old Norse vanta.]

wanter want'er n.

USAGE NOTE   When want meaning "desire" is followed immediately by an infinitive construction, it does not take for: I want you to go (not want for you to go). When want and the infinitive are separated by a word or phrase, however, for is used: What I want is for you to go. I want very much for you to go. Want in its meaning of "have need, lack" normally takes for: They'll not want for anything now that they've inherited his estate. See Usage Notes at wish.


verb

  1. To have a strong longing for: ache, covet, desire, hanker, long2, pant, pine, wish, yearn. Informal hone2. See desire.
  2. To be without what is needed, required, or essential: lack, need, require. See owned/unowned.
  3. To have the desire or inclination to: choose, desire, like1, please, will, wish. Idioms: have a mind, see fit. See desire.

noun

  1. The condition of lacking a needed or usual amount: absence, dearth, lack. See excess/insufficiency/enough.
  2. The condition of being extremely poor: beggary, destitution, impecuniosity, impecuniousness, impoverishment, indigence, need, neediness, pennilessness, penuriousness, penury, poverty, privation. See rich/poor.
  3. Something asked for or needed: demand, exigence, exigency (often used in plural), need. See necessary/unnecessary, over/under.


n

Definition: desire
Antonyms: disinterest, dislike, hate

n

Definition: lack, need
Antonyms: abundance, plenty

v

Definition: desire
Antonyms: despise, disinterest, dislike, hate

v

Definition: lack, need
Antonyms: have

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The absence or deficiency of what is needed or desired.

Want of jurisdiction, for example, is a lack of authority to exercise in a particular manner a power possessed by a tribunal or board.

Top
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A specific feeling of desire.

pronunciation I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance. — George Balanchine (1904-1983).

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

sign description: Both open claw hands, palms up, begin away from the body and are brought toward the body as the fingers curl up.




Top

Quotes:

"How badly do you want it?" - George E. Allen

"I have found that most of the things I want from living I must get from people." - Robert Conklin

"Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one." - Benjamin Franklin

"Our necessities never equal our wants." - Benjamin Franklin

"Make sure you want it enough." - Frank Kingdon

See more famous quotes about Want

  See crossword solutions for the clue Want.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Want (multiple meanings)

Top

Want, in economics, is something that is desired.

Want or The Want may also refer to:

In music:

In other media:

See also


Top

Common misspelling(s) of want to

  • wanna

Top

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - vil, ønske, behøve, trænge til, mangle, have brug for, lide nød
v. intr. - ønske sig
n. - behov, ønske, savn, mangel, trang, nød, fornødenheder

idioms:

  • for want of    i behov af
  • from want of    i mangel af
  • is wanted    er ønsket
  • want ad    efterlysningsannonce, rubrikannonce
  • want out    vil ud af noget

Nederlands (Dutch)
willen, verlangen, ontberen, nodig hebben, gebrek, wens

Français (French)
v. tr. - vouloir, avoir besoin, demander, vouloir (qn)
v. intr. - manquer de
n. - besoin, indigence (littér), défaut, à défaut de/faute de

idioms:

  • be wanted    être recherché (par la police), être demandé (au téléphone)
  • for want of    à défaut de, faute de
  • want ad    (US) petite annonce
  • want in    vouloir entrer, vouloir participer
  • want out    vouloir sortir, vouloir laisser tomber

Deutsch (German)
v. - wollen, benötigen, ermangeln, suchen (Polizei), Not leiden
n. - Mangel, Not, Bedürfnis

idioms:

  • be wanted    wird (polizeilich) gesucht, ist gewünscht
  • for want of    aus Mangel an
  • want ad    Kaufgesuch
  • want in    (AmE) reinwollen
  • want out    rauswollen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - θέλω, χρειάζομαι, ζητώ (την παρουσία κάποιου), επιθυμώ, επιζητώ, στερούμαι, (ως απρόσ.) θέλει, λείπει
n. - έλλειψη, στέρηση, ανάγκη, φτώχεια

idioms:

  • for want of    από έλλειψη
  • from want of    λόγω έλλειψης
  • is wanted    καταζητείται
  • want ad    (ΗΠΑ) μικρή αγγελία
  • want out    θέλω να βγω ή να ξεφύγω

Italiano (Italian)
volere, miseria, mancanza

idioms:

  • for want of    per mancanza di
  • from want of    per mancanza di
  • is wanted    è ricercato
  • want ad    avviso di acquisto
  • want out    non volerne più sapere

Português (Portuguese)
v. - faltar, desejar
n. - necessidade (f), falta (f)

idioms:

  • for want of    por falta de
  • from want of    a partir da falta de
  • is wanted    procura-se
  • want ad    anúncio na seção "precisa-se"
  • want out    querer sair

Русский (Russian)
хотеть, нуждаться, хотеть видеть (кого-л), разыскивать, быть необходимым, нехватка (чего-л.), бедность, потребность

idioms:

  • for want of    из-за недостатка, отсутствия (чего-л.), за неимением (чего-л.)
  • from want of    из-за недостатка, отсутствия (чего-л.), за неимением (чего-л.)
  • is wanted    разыскивается
  • want ad    частное объявление (в газете)
  • want out    хотеть выйти

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - querer, desear, necesitar, carecer de
v. intr. - estar necesitado (de), estar privado (de), querer (ir en alguna dirección)
n. - falta, carencia, necesidad, privación, anhelo, deseo

idioms:

  • be wanted    buscado, requerido, hacer falta, ser requerida su presencia, ser llamado (al teléfono, etc.)
  • for want of    por falta de, a falta de
  • want ad    anuncio clasificado, aviso, oferta o demanda (en un periódico)
  • want in    falto de, carente de
  • want out    querer ir, querer salir

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - önska, vilja, behöva, sakna
n. - brist, behov, önskan

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
要, 必须, 希望, 需要, 缺少, 缺乏, 贫困

idioms:

  • for want of    因缺乏
  • from want of    因缺乏...
  • is wanted    被通缉的, 被征求的
  • want ad    招聘广告, 征求广告
  • want out    解除

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 要, 必須, 希望
v. intr. - 需要, 缺少
n. - 缺乏, 需要, 貧困

idioms:

  • for want of    因缺乏
  • from want of    因缺乏...
  • is wanted    被通緝的, 被徵求的
  • want ad    招聘廣告, 徵求廣告
  • want out    解除

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - ~을 원하다, ~하고 싶다, ~이 필요하다
v. intr. - 바라다, 모자라다, 옹색하다
n. - 필요, 욕구, 부족

idioms:

  • want out    가고 싶어하다, 한 패에서 빠지고 싶어하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 欲する, 望む, 不足する, 足りない, 欠けている, 生活に困る, 用がある, 捜し求めている, 必要とする, …すべきである
adj. - 必要である, すべきである
n. - 不足, 欠乏, 困窮, 必要, 必要な物, 必需品, 欲しい物

idioms:

  • for want of    不足のために
  • from want of    不足のため
  • is wanted    指名手配されている
  • want ad    求人広告
  • want no part of    断る
  • want out    出たがる, 免れようとする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يريد, يرغب, يحتاج إلى, يتطلب, يلاحق, يطارد, يتوق (الاسم) عدم, نقيصه, ضعف, فقر, رغبه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮רצה, חפץ, היה זקוק ל-, הצריך, חייב, דרש‬
v. intr. - ‮רצה להיות ב-, חסר, היה חסר, היה נטול-, היה נעדר-‬
n. - ‮רצון, מחסור, חוסר, צורך, עוני, דלות, מבוקש (חשוד בעבירה)‬


Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

Mentioned in

Ashley, Laura (Quotes By)