1
as in to crave
to have an earnest wish to own or enjoy
I want a new car so badly!
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Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to need
to have as a requirement
that stray cat wants food and a clean place to sleep
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3
as in to wish
to see fit
do what you want
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4
as in to like
to wish to have
I want some ice cream for dessert, please
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1
as in lack
the fact or state of being absent
the proverb that begins, "for want of a nail, the shoe was lost"
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2
as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
there's a notable want of teachers in that rural school district
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3
as in need
a state of being without something necessary, desirable, or useful
those children are in want of some good discipline
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4
as in poverty
the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions
grew up in extreme want
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5
as in failing
a defect in character
she's well-meaning and kind, but her besetting want is a complete lack of tact
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of want
Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 7 Dec. 2024
The second blast came after Allen wanted to make up for a defensive miscue at first base.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 7 Dec. 2024
Will Tizard, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024
What’s important is that libertarians are decidedly not against child rearing, healthcare, retirement savings, or any of the many things members of the left want, Harris is promising, or both.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for want 
Verb
Yuletide chasers will want to time their trip with the annual German Christmas Market (Dec. 6 to 8).
—Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 7 Dec. 2024
The second blast came after Allen wanted to make up for a defensive miscue at first base.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 7 Dec. 2024
Noun
One perennial want under any effective totalitarian state is the appeal to history, of course.
—Will Tizard, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024
What’s important is that libertarians are decidedly not against child rearing, healthcare, retirement savings, or any of the many things members of the left want, Harris is promising, or both.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for want
Recent Examples of Synonyms for want
Verb
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Junior point guard Noah Mister craves being in the biggest moments for Mount Carmel.Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 14 Dec. 2024
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Consumers crave authentic connections with brands, and nothing bridges that gap like face-to-face engagement.Fairchild Studio, WWD, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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But the restructuring happening there will be funded by GM's partners, the automaker does not need to infuse any cash in it.Jamie L. LaReau, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
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To Schilling, Hill, and their colleagues, this means that although predictive deep learning programs have their uses, the burden of proof needs to be much more rigorous when using them in situations such as medical research.Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Gabriel did not wish to become an overworked, underpaid secondary-school teacher.Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
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Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.Bill Wachsberger, Baltimore Sun, 15 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Also, pay special attention to washing the folds of your skin, as bacteria likes to hang out there.Deanna Pai, Allure, 13 Dec. 2024
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Every upload of the trailer appears to have an underwater likes to dislikes ratio, indicating some level of pushback.Paul Tassi, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
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There is a lack of medical supplies, including prosthetics, wheelchairs and essential medications to treat people with injuries that have left them disabled, the press release said.Diaa Ostaz, ABC News, 14 Dec. 2024
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Windows 11 is still an appalling tablet OS with a crippling lack of touch-friendly apps, and the stylus has an irritating input lag that makes scribbling on screen unsatisfactory.Barry Collins, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
Noun
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This is also a major factor in the inventory shortage problem the market is facing.Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
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With a serious labor shortage and the growing IT skills gap impacting industries and regions across the globe, companies must get creative about finding new talent.Allie Danziger, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation researchers reported in 2018 that while causes of stress for young people include poverty, trauma and discrimination, another is an excessive pressure to excel.Max Kutner, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Dec. 2024
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To be eligible, patients must have income at or below four times the federal poverty level or have medical debt equal to 5% or more of their income.Staff report, Hartford Courant, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The incident and subsequent reports on safety failings by ride operators led to the Tyre Sampson Act, a pair of bills unanimously approved by the Florida Legislature in 2023 that closed gaps in ride safety laws.Cristóbal Reyes, Orlando Sentinel, 6 Dec. 2024
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The rise of a more populist GOP and the growing sense that the right must confront the failings of higher education means that things are likely to go very differently in a second Trump administration.Frederick Hess, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near want
Cite this Entry
“Want.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/want. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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