WANT

Pronunciation (US):

• 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. wish or demand the presence of
4. hunt or look for; want for a particular reason
5. be without, lack; be deficient in

  Familiarity information: WANT used as a verb is common.

• WANT (noun)

Meaning:

A state of extreme poverty

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

want; privation; neediness; deprivation

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

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

Meaning:

The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

lack; deficiency; want

Context examples:

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

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)

Meaning:

Anything that is necessary but lacking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

need; want

Context examples:

he had sufficient means to meet his simple needs / I tried to supply his wants

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

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

Meaning:

A specific feeling of desire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

wish; wishing; want

Context examples:

he got his wish / 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)

• WANT (verb)

Meaning:

Feel or have a desire for; want strongly

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

desire; want

Context examples:

I want to go home now / I want my own room

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

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)

seek (try to get or reach)

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

Meaning:

Have need of

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

want; need; require

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

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)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want him to write the letter

Meaning:

Hunt or look for; want for a particular reason

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context examples:

Your former neighbor is wanted by the FBI / 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)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Meaning:

Be without, lack; be deficient in

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context examples:

want courtesy / want the strength to go on living / 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