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Wanting

 - 5 dictionary results

want⋅ing

  [won-ting, wawn-]
Use Wanting in a Sentence
–adjective
1. lacking or absent: a motor with some of the parts wanting.
2. deficient in some part, thing, or respect: to be wanting in courtesy.
–preposition
3. lacking; without: a box wanting a lid.
4. less; minus: a century wanting three years.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME (adj.); see want, -ing 2

want

  [wont, wawnt]
–verb (used with object)
1. to feel a need or a desire for; wish for: to want one's dinner; always wanting something new.
2. to wish, need, crave, demand, or desire (often fol. by an infinitive): I want to see you. She wants to be notified.
3. to be without or be deficient in: to want judgment; to want knowledge.
4. to fall short by (a specified amount): The sum collected wants but a few dollars of the desired amount.
5. to require or need: The house wants painting.
–verb (used without object)
6. to feel inclined; wish; like (often fol. by to): We can stay home if you want.
7. to be deficient by the absence of some part or thing, or to feel or have a need (sometimes fol. by for): He did not want for abilities.
8. to have need (usually fol. by for): If you want for anything, let him know.
9. to be in a state of destitution, need, or poverty: She would never allow her parents to want.
10. to be lacking or absent, as a part or thing necessary to completeness: All that wants is his signature.
–noun
11. something wanted or needed; necessity: My wants are few.
12. something desired, demanded, or required: a person of childish, capricious wants.
13. absence or deficiency of something desirable or requisite; lack: plants dying for want of rain.
14. the state of being without something desired or needed; need: to be in want of an assistant.
15. the state of being without the necessaries of life; destitution; poverty: a country where want is virtually unknown.
16. a sense of lack or need of something: to feel a vague want.
—Idiom
17. want in or out, Chiefly Midland.
a. to desire to enter or leave: The cat wants in.
b. Informal. to desire acceptance in or release from something specified: I talked with Louie about our plan, and he wants in.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME wante < ON vanta to lack

Related forms:
wanter, noun
wantless, adjective
want⋅less⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. require, crave. See wish. 3. need. See lack. 11. desideratum. 13. dearth, scarcity, scarceness, inadequacy, insufficiency, paucity, meagerness. 15. privation, penury, indigence. See poverty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Wanting
want   (wŏnt, wônt)   
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.

    3. To request the presence or assistance of: You are wanted by your office.

    4. To seek with intent to capture: The fugitive is wanted by the police.

    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.

  3. To have an inclination toward; like: Say what you want, but be tactful.

  4. Informal To be obliged (to do something): You want to be careful on the ice.

  5. To be without; lack. See Synonyms at lack.

  6. 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 Verb(s):
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; see euə- in Indo-European roots.]
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 Note at wish.
want·ing   (wŏn'tĭng, wôn'-)   
adj.  

  1. Absent; lacking.

  2. Not measuring up to standards or expectations.

prep.  

  1. Without.

  2. Minus; less: an hour wanting 15 minutes.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

want  (v.)
c.1200, "to be lacking," from O.N. vanta "to lack, want," earlier *wanaton, from P.Gmc. *wanen, from PIE *we-no-, from base *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out" (see vain). The meaning "desire, wish for" is first recorded 1706. Wanted "sought by the police" was originally slang, in use by 1812.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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