WANTED

cherished, precious, treasured, wanted

(adjective) characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for; “a cherished friend”; “children are precious”; “a treasured heirloom”; “so good to feel wanted”

wanted

(adjective) desired or wished for or sought; “couldn’t keep her eyes off the wanted toy”; “a wanted criminal”; “a wanted poster”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

wanted (comparative more wanted, superlative most wanted)

wished for; desired; sought

(legal) subject to immediate detainment by law enforcement authorities on sight.

Antonyms

• unwanted

Verb

wanted

simple past tense and past participle of want

Source: Wiktionary


WANT

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



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Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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