11 results for: desire

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

de·sire

Audio Help [di-zahy^uhr] Pronunciation Key verb, -sired, -sir·ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.	to wish or long for; crave; want.

2.	to express a wish to obtain; ask for; request: The mayor desires your presence at the next meeting.

–noun

3.	a longing or craving, as for something that brings satisfaction or enjoyment: a desire for fame.

4.	an expressed wish; request.

5.	something desired.

6.	sexual appetite or a sexual urge.

[Origin: 1200–50; ME desiren < OF desirer < L désīderāre; see desiderate

]

—Related forms

de·sired·ly

Audio Help [di-zahy^uhrd-lee, -zahy-rid-] Pronunciation Key, adverb

de·sired·ness, noun

de·sire·less, adjective

de·sir·er, noun

de·sir·ing·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. covet, fancy. See wish. 2. solicit. 3. aspiration, hunger, appetite, thirst. Desire, craving, longing, yearning suggest feelings that impel one to the attainment or possession of something. Desire is a strong feeling, worthy or unworthy, that impels to the attainment or possession of something that is (in reality or imagination) within reach: a desire for success. Craving implies a deep and imperative wish for something, based on a sense of need and hunger: a craving for food, companionship. A longing is an intense wish, generally repeated or enduring, for something that is at the moment beyond reach but may be attainable at some future time: a longing to visit Europe. Yearning suggests persistent, uneasy, and sometimes wistful or tender longing: a yearning for one's native land.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
desire

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

de·sire Audio Help (dĭ-zīr') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. de·sired, de·sir·ing, de·sires

To wish or long for; want.
To express a wish for; request.

A wish or longing.
A request or petition.
The object of longing: My greatest desire is to go back home.
Sexual appetite; passion.

[Middle English desiren, from Old French desirer, from Latin dēsīderāre : dē-, de- + sīdus, sīder-, star.]

de·sir'er n.

Synonyms: These verbs mean to have a strong longing for: desire peace; coveted the new convertible; craving fame and fortune; wanted a drink of water; got all she wished.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
desire

c.1230, from O.Fr. desirer, from L. desiderare "long for, wish for," original sense perhaps "await what the stars will bring," from the phrase de sidere "from the stars," from sidus (gen. sideris) "heavenly body, star, constellation" (but see consider). Noun sense of "lust" is first recorded c.1340.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

desire
noun
1.	the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
2.	an inclination to want things; "a man of many desires"
3.	something that is desired
verb
1.	feel or have a desire for; want strongly; "I want to go home now"; "I want my own room"
2.	expect and wish; "I trust you will behave better from now on"; "I hope she understands that she cannot expect a raise" [syn: hope]
3.	express a desire for

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

desire

see leave a lot to be desired.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
desire [diˈzaiə] noun

a wish or longing
Example: I have a sudden desire for a bar of chocolate; I have no desire ever to see him again.

Arabic:	رَغْبَه
Chinese (Simplified):	愿望
Chinese (Traditional):	願望
Czech:	chuť, touha, přání
Danish:	ønske; længsel
Dutch:	wens, begeerte
Estonian:	soov
Finnish:	halu
French:	désir
German:	das Verlangen
Greek:	επιθυμία
Hungarian:	vágy
Icelandic:	þrá, langa
Indonesian:	keinginan
Italian:	desiderio, voglia

Japanese:	欲望
Korean:	바람, 소망
Latvian:	vēlēšanās; vēlme
Lithuanian:	noras, troškimas
Norwegian:	sterkt ønske, lyst, lengsel, trang
Polish:	pragnienie
Portuguese (Brazil):	desejo
Portuguese (Portugal):	desejo
Romanian:	dorinţă; poftă
Russian:	желание
Slovak:	chuť, želanie, túžba
Slovenian:	želja
Spanish:	deseo
Swedish:	önskan, längtan, åtrå, begär
Turkish:	arzu

desire [diˈzaiə] verb

to long for or feel desire for
Example: After a day's work, all I desire is a hot bath.

Arabic:	يَرْغَب
Chinese (Simplified):	希望，要求
Chinese (Traditional):	希望，要求
Czech:	přát si, toužit po
Danish:	ønske; længes efter
Dutch:	begeren
Estonian:	ihaldama
Finnish:	haluta
French:	désirer
German:	verlangen
Greek:	επιθυμώ
Hungarian:	kíván
Icelandic:	langa
Indonesian:	menginginkan
Italian:	desiderare

Japanese:	欲する
Korean:	바라다, 원하다
Latvian:	vēlēties; kārot
Lithuanian:	norėti, trokšti
Norwegian:	lengte etter, ønske sterkt, begjære
Polish:	pragnąć
Portuguese (Brazil):	desejar
Portuguese (Portugal):	desejar
Romanian:	a dori
Russian:	желать
Slovak:	žiadať (sa)
Slovenian:	želeti si
Spanish:	desear
Swedish:	önska , åstunda, åtrå
Turkish:	arzu etmek

See also: desirable, desirability

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: de·sire
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: de·sired; de·sir·ing
: to wish for earnestly —see also PRECATORY
NOTE: Courts have variously interpreted desire in wills to indicate either a direction of the testator that must be followed or merely an expression of what the testator hoped would happen.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Desire

Con*sid"er\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Considered; p. pr. & vb. n. Considering.] [F. consid['e]rer, L. considerare, -sideratum, to consider, view attentively, prob. fr. con- + sidus, sideris, star, constellation; orig., therefore, to look at the stars. See Sidereal, and cf. Desire.]

1. To fix the mind on, with a view to a careful examination; to think on with care; to ponder; to study; to meditate on.

I will consider thy testimonies. --Ps. cxix. 95.

Thenceforth to speculations high or deep I turned my thoughts, and with capacious mind Considered all things visible. --Milton.

2. To look at attentively; to observe; to examine.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it. --Prov. xxxi. 16.

3. To have regard to; to take into view or account; to pay due attention to; to respect.

Consider, sir, the chance of war: the day Was yours by accident. --Shak.

England could grow into a posture of being more united at home, and more considered abroad. --Sir W. Temple.

4. To estimate; to think; to regard; to view.

Considered as plays, his works are absurd. --Macaulay.

Note: The proper sense of consider is often blended with an idea of the result of considering; as, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor." --Ps. xli. 1.; i.e., considers with sympathy and pity. "Which [services] if I have not enough considered." --Shak.; i.e., requited as the sufficient considering of them would suggest. "Consider him liberally." --J. Hooker.

Syn: To ponder; weigh; revolve; study; reflect or meditate on; contemplate; examine. See Ponder.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Desire

De*sid"er*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desiderated; p. pr. & vb. n. Desiderating.] [L. desideratus, p. p. of desiderare to desire, miss. See Desire, and cf. Desideratum.] To desire; to feel the want of; to lack; to miss; to want.

Pray have the goodness to point out one word missing that ought to have been there -- please to insert a desiderated stanza. You can not. --Prof. Wilson.

Men were beginning . . . to desiderate for them an actual abode of fire. --A. W. Ward.

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