Meaning of "want" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD WANT

(Vb, in the sense: it is lacking), C13 (n): from Old Norse vanta to be deficient; related to Old English wanian to wane.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF WANT

want  [wɒnt]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF WANT

Want is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb want in English.

WHAT DOES WANT MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Want

The idea of want can be examined from many perspectives. In secular societies want might be considered similar to the emotion desire, which can be studied scientifically through the disciplines of psychology or sociology. Want might also be examined in economics as a necessary ingredient in sustaining and perpetuating capitalist societies that are organised around principles like consumerism. Alternatively want can be studied in a non-secular, spiritual, moralistic or religious way, particularly by Buddhism but also Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In economics, a want is something that is desired. It is said that every person has unlimited wants, but limited resources. Thus, people cannot have everything they want and must look for the most affordable alternatives. Wants are often distinguished from needs. A need is something that is necessary for survival, whereas a want is simply something that a person would like to have. Some economists have rejected this distinction and maintain that all of these are simply wants, with varying levels of importance. By this viewpoint, wants and needs can be understood as examples of the overall concept of demand.

Definition of want in the English dictionary

The first definition of want in the dictionary is to feel a need or longing for. Other definition of want is to wish, need, or desire. Want is also usually used with a negative and often foll by for to be lacking or deficient.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO WANT

PRESENT

Present

I want

you want

he/she/it wants

we want

you want

they want

Present continuous

I am wanting

you are wanting

he/she/it is wanting

we are wanting

you are wanting

they are wanting

Present perfect

I have wanted

you have wanted

he/she/it has wanted

we have wanted

you have wanted

they have wanted

Present perfect continuous

I have been wanting

you have been wanting

he/she/it has been wanting

we have been wanting

you have been wanting

they have been wanting

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I wanted

you wanted

he/she/it wanted

we wanted

you wanted

they wanted

Past continuous

I was wanting

you were wanting

he/she/it was wanting

we were wanting

you were wanting

they were wanting

Past perfect

I had wanted

you had wanted

he/she/it had wanted

we had wanted

you had wanted

they had wanted

Past perfect continuous

I had been wanting

you had been wanting

he/she/it had been wanting

we had been wanting

you had been wanting

they had been wanting

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will want

you will want

he/she/it will want

we will want

you will want

they will want

Future continuous

I will be wanting

you will be wanting

he/she/it will be wanting

we will be wanting

you will be wanting

they will be wanting

Future perfect

I will have wanted

you will have wanted

he/she/it will have wanted

we will have wanted

you will have wanted

they will have wanted

Future perfect continuous

I will have been wanting

you will have been wanting

he/she/it will have been wanting

we will have been wanting

you will have been wanting

they will have been wanting

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would want

you would want

he/she/it would want

we would want

you would want

they would want

Conditional continuous

I would be wanting

you would be wanting

he/she/it would be wanting

we would be wanting

you would be wanting

they would be wanting

Conditional perfect

I would have want

you would have want

he/she/it would have want

we would have want

you would have want

they would have want

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been wanting

you would have been wanting

he/she/it would have been wanting

we would have been wanting

you would have been wanting

they would have been wanting

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you want
we let´s want
you want

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to want

Past participle

wanted

Present Participle

wanting

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «WANT»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «want» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of want

absence · adore · appetite · cherish · covet · crave · craving · dearth · default · deficiency · demand · desire · destitution · distress · famine · fancy · feel like · feel up to · hankering · hardship · hunger · inadequacy · indigence · insufficiency · lack · longing · love · miss · must · necessity · need · neediness · ought · paucity · pauperism · pennilessness · penury · poverty · privation · prize · require · requirement · scantiness · scarcity · shortage · shortfall · shortness · should · thirst · treasure · whim · will · wish · yearning · yen

TRANSLATION OF WANT

Find out the translation of want to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of want from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «want» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 要
• Translator English - Spanish: querer
• English: want
• Translator English - Hindi: चाहते हैं
• Translator English - Arabic: يُريدُ
• Translator English - Russian: хотеть
• Translator English - Portuguese: querer
• Translator English - Bengali: প্রয়োজন
• Translator English - French: vouloir
• Translator English - Malay: Mahu
• Translator English - German: wollen
• Translator English - Japanese: 欲しい
• Translator English - Korean: 원하다
• Translator English - Javanese: Pengin
• Translator English - Vietnamese: muốn
• Translator English - Tamil: வேண்டும்
• Translator English - Marathi: इच्छित
• Translator English - Turkish: istemek
• Translator English - Italian: volere
• Translator English - Polish: chcieć
• Translator English - Ukrainian: хотіти
• Translator English - Romanian: a dori
• Translator English - Greek: θέλω
• Translator English - Afrikaans: wil
• Translator English - Swedish: vilja
• Translator English - Norwegian: ønske (seg)

10 QUOTES WITH «WANT»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word want.

1

Khandi Alexander

I have deep comedic roots, and I want to be funny.

2

Karen Allen

People want to see a movie that casts a mature woman across from a mature man.

3

Gabrielle Anwar

I'm not even sure I have a style! All I know for sure is I don't want to look like everyone else.

4

Josie Bissett

I want my kids to live their life with great family memories that they can pass on to their children.

5

Pearl S. Buck

If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.

6

Augusten Burroughs

I think writers tend to be experience junkies, and I think they also tend to want to be on the outside looking in.

7

John Jay Chapman

I want to find someone on the earth so intelligent that he welcomes opinions which he condemns.

8

Bruce Cockburn

We're confronted with great darkness as a species right now as spiritual creatures on this planet. I don't think it's hopeless, and I don't want 'You've Never Seen Everything' to make people feel hopeless. But I think we've got to call a spade a spade.

9

Jimmy Connors

I had true rivalries. Not only did I want to beat my opponent, but I didn't want to let him up, either. I had a rivalry with Mac, Lendl, Borg. Everybody knew there was tension between us, on court and off. That's what's really ingrained in my mind: 'This is real. This isn't a soft rivalry.' There were no hugs and kisses.

10

Domenico Dolce

You need to be ahead of the game just enough so that you can have what people want in the shops when they want it.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «WANT»

Discover the use of want in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to want and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur

"Anything you want is a manifesto about living life, appreciating enough, and doing what matters.

Derek Sivers, 2011

It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be: The ...

A handbook of how to succeed in the world helps the talented and timid alike make the unthinkable thinkable and the impossible possible. Original.

Paul Arden, 2003

What We Want Is Free: Generosity And Exchange In Recent Art

Examines the way recent artists have incorporated concepts of generosity into their work.

Ted Purves, 2005

Make Every Man Want You: or Make Yours Want You More)

Unleash Your Irresistibility! "Make Every Man Want You gives every woman the tools she needs to unlock her inner magnet." --Kelly Ripa Let's make one thing clear: this book is like no other dating book you've read.

Marie Forleo, 2008

Getting the Love You Want Workbook: The New Couples' Study Guide

The workbook contains a unique twelve-week course (The New Couples' Study Guide) designed to help work through the exercises published in Part III of Getting the Love You Want.

Harville Hendrix, Helen LaKelly Hunt, 2007

Want to Go Private?

Abby and Luke chat online.

Sarah Littman, 2011

How to Get Any Man to Do Anything You Want!: How to Find the ...

This book will make you more popular than you can imagine (well, with guys anyway), and transform a dull, boring relationship into a lively, fun one with lots of romance and affection for both of you.

Dusty White, Brenda Judy, 2008

I Will Marry when I Want

This is the renowned play which was developed with Kikuyu actors at the Kamiriithu Cultural Centre at Limuru.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo, Ngũgĩ wa Mĩriĩ, 1982

If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit

Carl Sandburg called this book “the best book ever written about how to write.” Yet Ueland reminds us that “whenever I say ‘writing’ in this book, I also mean anything that you love and want to do or make.”

Brenda Ueland, 2010

I Don't Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy ...

This groundbreaking book is the “pathway out of darkness” that these men and their families seek. Real reveals how men can unearth their pain, heal themselves, restore relationships, and break the legacy of abuse.

Terrence Real, 1999

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «WANT»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term want is used in the context of the following news items.

Apple and Google Know What You Want Before You Do

In addition, the ability to anticipate what users want and deliver it at the right moment will be crucial for such future devices as smart watches and connected ... «Wall Street Journal, Aug 15»

'The Olympics are dead': Does anyone want to be a host city any …

The reason Boston's residents didn't want to be Athens is the same reason the residents of Oslo or Krakow or Stockholm don't want to be Athens. Hosting an ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»

Motherlode | 'I Do Not Want to Go to Day Camp!'

Did not want to canoe, or nature hike, or bike, or walk tight ropes. Did not want to enter an unfamiliar situation, meet new teachers or coaches or counselors, ... «New York Times, Jul 15»

Germany doesn't want to save Greece. It seems to want to humiliate …

Greece has offered an almost unconditional surrender on its bailout, but Germany might not accept anything less than a Carthaginian peace. In other words, a ... «Washington Post, Jul 15»

What Does Harper Lee Want?

Lee wasn't shy, but she didn't want to be famous. “I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird,” she said in 1964 in her last published interview. «Bloomberg, Jul 15»

Many Greeks Still Want a Deal

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece caused a major uproar on Saturday when he announced a national referendum on the package of austerity reforms that ... «New York Times, Jun 15»

This mathematical principle reveals the best way to get anything you …

Exploiting this algorithm can be a great strategy for getting what you want. Here's how it works: Fry uses the example of three boys talking to three girls at a party. «Business Insider, Jun 15»

What does David Cameron want?

It'll be less of a fanfare and more a quick bugle blast but today, at a scheduled summit of EU leaders in Brussels, UK Prime Minister David Cameron will - for the ... «BBC News, Jun 15»

Under Armour's 'I Will What I Want' Takes Sole Cyber Grand Prix

In the increasingly confusing category of Cyber, the Cannes Lions International Festival Creativity jurors awarded a single Grand Prix: to Under Armour's ... «AdAge.com, Jun 15»

The Chinese Want Their Art Back

OVER the course of five days in March, Christie's auctioned off the holdings of the dealer Robert H. Ellsworth, who, before his death last year at age 85, filled his ... «New York Times, Jun 15»