wish, wishing, want
(noun) a specific feeling of desire; “he got his wish”; “he was above all wishing and desire”
need, want
(noun) anything that is necessary but lacking; “he had sufficient means to meet his simple needs”; “I tried to supply his wants”
lack, deficiency, want
(noun) the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable; “there is a serious lack of insight into the problem”; “water is the critical deficiency in desert regions”; “for want of a nail the shoe was lost”
privation, want, deprivation, neediness
(noun) a state of extreme poverty
want
(verb) wish or demand the presence of; “I want you here at noon!”
want, need, require
(verb) have need of; “This piano wants the attention of a competent tuner”
want
(verb) hunt or look for; want for a particular reason; “Your former neighbor is wanted by the FBI”; “Uncle Sam wants you”
desire, want
(verb) feel or have a desire for; want strongly; “I want to go home now”; “I want my own room”
want
(verb) be without, lack; be deficient in; “want courtesy”; “want the strength to go on living”; “flood victims wanting food and shelter”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Want
A personification of want.
• tawn
want (third-person singular simple present wants, present participle wanting, simple past and past participle wanted)
(transitive) To wish for or desire (something); to feel a need or desire for; to crave or demand. [from 18th c.]
(by extension) To make it easy or tempting to do something undesirable, or to make it hard or challenging to refrain from doing it.
(transitive, in particular) To wish, desire, or demand to see, have the presence of or do business with.
(intransitive) To desire (to experience desire); to wish.
(colloquial, usually second person, often future tense) To be advised to do something (compare should, ought).
(transitive, now colloquial) To lack and be in need of or require (something, such as a noun or verbal noun). [from 15th c.]
(transitive, now rare) To have occasion for (something requisite or useful); to require or need.
• Walden (link)
(intransitive, dated) To be lacking or deficient or absent. [from 13th c.]
(intransitive, dated) To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack.
(transitive, archaic) To lack and be without, to not have (something). [from 13th c.]
(transitive, obsolete, by extension) To lack and (be able to) do without.
• This is a catenative verb. See English catenative verbs
• (desire): set one's heart on, wish for, would like
• (lack): be without
• (require): need, be in need of
want (countable and uncountable, plural wants)
(countable) A desire, wish, longing.
(countable, often, followed by of) Lack, absence.
• For Want of a Nail
(uncountable) Poverty.
Something needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt.
(UK, mining) A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place.
• tawn
Source: Wiktionary
Want (277), n. Etym: [Originally an adj., from Icel. vant, neuter of vanr lacking, deficient. sq. root139. See Wane, v. i.]
1. The state of not having; the condition of being without anything; absence or scarcity of what is needed or desired; deficiency; lack; as, a want of power or knowledge for any purpose; want of food and clothing. And me, his parent, would full soon devour For want of other prey. Milton. From having wishes in consequence of our wants, we often feel wants in consequence of our wishes. Rambler. Pride is as loud a beggar as want, and more saucy. Franklin.
2. Specifically, absence or lack of necessaries; destitution; poverty; penury; indigence; need. Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches, as to conceive how others can be in want. Swift.
3. That which is needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt; what is not possessed, and is necessary for use or pleasure. Habitual superfluities become actual wants. Paley.
4. (Mining)
Definition: A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place. [Eng.]
Syn.
– Indigence; deficiency; defect; destitution; lack; failure; dearth; scarceness.
Want, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Wanting.]
1. To be without; to be destitute of, or deficient in; not to have; to lack; as, to want knowledge; to want judgment; to want learning; to want food and clothing. They that want honesty, want anything. Beau. & Fl. Nor think, though men were none, That heaven would want spectators, God want praise. Milton. The unhappy never want enemies. Richardson.
2. To have occasion for, as useful, proper, or requisite; to require; to need; as, in winter we want a fire; in summer we want cooling breezes.
3. To feel need of; to wish or long for; to desire; to crave. " What wants my son" Addison. I want to speak to you about something. A. Trollope.
Want, v. i. Etym: [Icel. vanta to be wanting. See Want to lack.]
1. To be absent; to be deficient or lacking; to fail; not to be sufficient; to fall or come short; to lack; -- often used impersonally with of; as, it wants ten minutes of four. The disposition, the manners, and the thoughts are all before it; where any of those are wanting or imperfect, so much wants or is imperfect in the imitation of human life. Dryden.
2. To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack. You have a gift, sir (thank your education), Will never let you want. B. Jonson. For as in bodies, thus in souls, we find What wants in blood and spirits, swelled with wind. Pope.
Note: Want was formerly used impersonally with an indirect object. "Him wanted audience." Chaucer.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 November 2024
(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
