Definitions for: Want


[n] a specific feeling of desire; "he got his wish"; "he was above all wishing and desire"
[n] anything that is necessary but lacking; "he had sufficient means to meet his simple needs"; "I tried to supply his wants"
[n] the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable; "there is a serious lack of insight into the problem"; "water is the critical deficiency in desert regions"; "for want of a nail the shoe was lost"
[n] a state of extreme poverty
[v] wish or demand the presence of; "I want you here at noon!"
[v] have need of; "This piano wants the attention of a competent tuner"
[v] hunt or look for; want for a particular reason; "Your former neighbor is wanted by the FBI"; "Uncle Sam wants you"
[v] feel or have a desire for; want strongly; "I want to go home now"; "I want my own room"
[v] be without, lack; be deficient in; "want courtesy"; "want the strength to go on living"; "flood victims wanting food and shelter"



Webster (1913) Definition: Want (277), n. [Originally an adj., from Icel. vant,
neuter of vanr lacking, deficient. [root]139. 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) 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. [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.

Synonyms: deficiency, deprivation, desire, lack, lack, need, need, privation, require, wish, wishing

See Also: absence, ambition, be, begrudge, care, crave, cry, dearth, demand, demand, desire, envy, essential, famine, fancy, feel like, go for, hanker, hope, hunger, impoverishment, itch, lech after, like, long, look for, lust, lust after, mineral deficiency, miss, miss, necessary, necessity, need, need, poorness, poverty, requirement, requisite, search, seek, seek, shortage, spoil, starve, stringency, take to, thirst, tightness, velleity, wish, wish well, yearn

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