Want
[wɒnt] or [wɑnt]
Definition
(verb.) wish or demand the presence of; 'I want you here at noon!'.
(verb.) have need of; 'This piano wants the attention of a competent tuner'.
(verb.) hunt or look for; want for a particular reason; 'Your former neighbor is wanted by the FBI'; 'Uncle Sam wants you'.
(verb.) be without, lack; be deficient in; 'want courtesy'; 'want the strength to go on living'; 'flood victims wanting food and shelter'.
Editor: Val--From WordNet
Definition
(v. i.) 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.
(v. i.) Specifically, absence or lack of necessaries; destitution; poverty; penury; indigence; need.
(v. i.) 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.
(v. i.) A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) To feel need of; to wish or long for; to desire; to crave.
(v. i.) 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.
(v. i.) To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack.
Inputed by Jackson
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Deficiency, insufficiency, inadequacy, scarcity, scarceness, scantiness, meagreness, shortness, dearth, DEFICIT, lack, absence, default, defect, defectiveness, failure.[2]. Need, necessity, requirement, desideratum.[3]. Desire, wish, craving, longing.[4]. Poverty, indigence, penury, destitution, distress, straits.
v. a. [1]. Lack, be without, be destitute of, be in need of.[2]. Require, need, have need of, have occasion for, stand in need of, cannot do without, cannot dispense with.[3]. Desire, wish, crave, wish for.
v. n. Lack, fall, be deficient, fall short, come short.
Typist: Michael
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Deficiency, lack, failure, insufficiency, scantiness, shortness, omission,neglect, nonproduction, absence
ANT:Supply, sufficiency, provision, abundance, production, allowance, supplement,adequacy
Checked by Jocelyn
Definition
n. state of being without anything: absence of what is needful or desired: poverty: scarcity: need.—v.t. to be destitute of: to need: to dispense with: to feel need of: to fall short: to wish for.—v.i. to be deficient: to fall short: to be in need.—n. Wan′tage deficiency.—adj. Wan′ted sought after being searched for.—n. Wan′ter one who wants.—adj. Wan′ting absent: deficient: (obs.) poor.—prep. except.—n. Want′-wit (Shak.) a fool.
Inputed by Andre
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream that you are in want, denotes that you have unfortunately ignored the realities of life, and chased folly to her stronghold of sorrow and adversity. If you find yourself contented in a state of want, you will bear the misfortune which threatens you with heroism, and will see the clouds of misery disperse. To relieve want, signifies that you will be esteemed for your disinterested kindness, but you will feel no pleasure in well doing.
Inputed by Errol
Examples
- The family don't want her here, and they'll say it's because I've been ill, because I'm a weak old woman, that she's persuaded me. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Then, collecting himself, he added in his usual tone, And what may it be your pleasure to want at so early an hour with the poor Jew? Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- I don't want to pry, my dear. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Tell my servant to bring me up some hot water at half-past eight in the morning, and that I shall not want him any more to-night. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- He's good enough for the occasion: when the people have made up their mind as they are making it up now, they don't want a man--they only want a vote. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- You'll want some money. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Hunger and recent ill-usage are great assistants if you want to cry; and Oliver cried very naturally indeed. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- We went to the 'commissionaire' of the hotel--I don't know what a 'commissionaire' is, but that is the man we went to--and told him we wanted a guide. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- She submitted to him, let him take what he wanted and do as he wanted with her. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- She wanted to plunge on and on, till she came to the end of the valley of snow. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- I wanted to call upon you about it. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- I told you the other day what I wanted. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- He had left his sleeping wife; and wanted, as Margaret saw, to be amused and interested by something that she was to tell him. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- Because you always wanted things that wouldn't do. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- What did he say he wants with those books? Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- He waxes strong in all violence and lawlessness; and is ready for any deed of daring that will supply the wants of his rabble-rout. Plato. The Republic.
- He wants superfine stability. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- He wants me to be an India merchant, as he was, and I'd rather be shot. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- But conditions change whether statesmen wish them to or not; society must have new institutions to fit new wants, and all that rigid conservatism can do is to make the transitions difficult. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Who wants a dingy woman? Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- He wants no clerks. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Not wanting to go through the yard, because of the dogs, she turned off along the hill-side to descend on the pond from above. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- The early habit of reading was wanting. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- There was really nothing wanting. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Then you'll not be wanting me any more tonight, ma'am? Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- He would have been more and more sensible of what was wanting in his home. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Nothing was wanting on Mrs. Palmer's side that constant and friendly good humour could do, to make them feel themselves welcome. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Ah, well, said Mrs. Archer, I understand May's wanting her cousin to tell people abroad that we're not quite barbarians. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
Checker: Ophelia