WANT

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does want mean? 

• WANT (noun)
  The noun WANT has 4 senses:

1. a state of extreme poverty

2. the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable

3. anything that is necessary but lacking

4. a specific feeling of desire

  Familiarity information: WANT used as a noun is uncommon.

• WANT (verb)
  The verb WANT has 5 senses:

1. feel or have a desire for; want strongly

2. have need of

3. hunt or look for; want for a particular reason

4. wish or demand the presence of

5. be without, lack; be deficient in

  Familiarity information: WANT used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WANT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A state of extreme poverty

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

deprivation; neediness; privation; want

Hypernyms ("want" is a kind of...):

impoverishment; poorness; poverty (the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions)

Derivation:

want (be without, lack; be deficient in)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

deficiency; lack; want

Context example:

for want of a nail the shoe was lost

Hypernyms ("want" is a kind of...):

demand; need (a condition requiring relief)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "want"):

absence (the state of being absent)

dearth; famine; shortage (an acute insufficiency)

deficit (a deficiency or failure in neurological or mental functioning)

mineral deficiency (lack of a mineral micronutrient that is essential for normal nutrition or metabolism)

shortness (the condition of being short of something)

stringency; tightness (a state occasioned by scarcity of money and a shortage of credit)

Derivation:

want (have need of)

want (be without, lack; be deficient in)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Anything that is necessary but lacking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

need; want

Context example:

I tried to supply his wants

Hypernyms ("want" is a kind of...):

essential; necessary; necessity; requirement; requisite (anything indispensable)

Derivation:

want (have need of)

want (be without, lack; be deficient in)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A specific feeling of desire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

want; wish; wishing

Context example:

he was above all wishing and desire

Hypernyms ("want" is a kind of...):

desire (the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "want"):

velleity (a mere wish, unaccompanied by effort to obtain)

Derivation:

want (feel or have a desire for; want strongly)

want (wish or demand the presence of)

• WANT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they want    ... he / she / it wants   
Past simple: wanted   
Past participle: wanted   
-ing form: wanting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Feel or have a desire for; want strongly

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

desire; want

Context example:

I want my own room

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "want"):

seek (try to get or reach)

hanker; long; yearn (desire strongly or persistently)

lech after; lust after (have a strong sexual desire for)

begrudge; envy (be envious of; set one's heart on)

feel like (have an inclination for something or some activity)

ambition (have as one's ambition)

like (want to have)

itch; spoil (have a strong desire or urge to do something)

care; like; wish (prefer or wish to do something)

wish; wish well (feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of)

wish (hope for; have a wish)

hope (be optimistic; be full of hope; have hopes)

miss (feel or suffer from the lack of)

fancy; go for; take to (have a fancy or particular liking or desire for)

crave; hunger; lust; starve; thirst (have a craving, appetite, or great desire for)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They want him to write the letter

Derivation:

want (a specific feeling of desire)

wanter (a person who wants or needs something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Have need of

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

need; require; want

Context example:

This piano wants the attention of a competent tuner

Hypernyms (to "want" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "want"):

cry (demand immediate action)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence examples:

They want more bread
They want him to write the letter
They want to move

Derivation:

want (anything that is necessary but lacking)

wanter (a person who wants or needs something)

want (the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Hunt or look for; want for a particular reason

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

Uncle Sam wants you

Hypernyms (to "want" is one way to...):

look for; search; seek (try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of)

Verb group:

want (wish or demand the presence of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

wanter (a person who wants or needs something)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Wish or demand the presence of

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

I want you here at noon!

Hypernyms (to "want" is one way to...):

demand (request urgently and forcefully)

Verb group:

want (hunt or look for; want for a particular reason)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want him to write the letter

Derivation:

want (a specific feeling of desire)

wanter (a person who wants or needs something)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be without, lack; be deficient in

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

flood victims wanting food and shelter

Hypernyms (to "want" is one way to...):

lack; miss (be without)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

want (anything that is necessary but lacking)

want (the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable)

want (a state of extreme poverty)

wanter (a person who wants or needs something)

 Context examples 

I know it, and I want you to start upon your work knowing it, too.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I, Ebbits, who am his father, make a great think. I have no more sons and I do not want Bidarshik to die.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

And you don’t want your name to appear?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“You want to come aboard, eh? Well, then, just keep a-coming.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

When he sat down beside me, he said in a very gentle way:—"I want to say something to you, miss."

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“If you want good men you should pay them a good price,” said I.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Now I want to get my bearin's.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

There's one thing, said he, that maybe I should have spoken about before this, but I wanted to know a little more clearly where I was.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I agree not to expect anything from Mother or you, but I do want to buy Undine and Sintran for myself.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

There was something I wanted to ask you.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)