Adjacent Words

Desire definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DESIRE, n.
1. An emotion or excitement of the mind, directed to the attainment or possession of an object from which pleasure, sensual, intellectual or spiritual, is expected; a passion excited by the love of an object, or uneasiness at the want of it, and directed to its attainment or possession. Desire is a wish to possess some gratification or source of happiness which is supposed to be obtainable. A wish may exist for something that is or is not abtainable. Desire, when directed solely to sensual enjoyment, differs little from appetite. In other languages, desire is expressed by longing or reaching toward, and when it is ardent or intense, it approaches to longing, but the word in English usually expresses less than longing.
We endeavored-to see your face with great desire. 1 Th 2.
Thou satisfiest the desires of every living thing. Psalms 145.
Desire is that internal act, which, by influencing the will, makes us proceed to action.
2. A prayer or request to obtain:
He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him. Psalms 145.
3. The object of desire; that which is desired.
The desire of all nations shall come. Haggi 2.
4. Love; affection.
His desire is toward me. Song 7.
5. Appetite; lust.
Fulfilling the desires of the flesh. Ephesians 2.
DESIRE, v.t.
1. To wish for the possession or enjoyment of, with a greater or less degree of earnestness; to covet. It expresses less strength of affection than longing.
Neither shall any man desire thy land. Exodus 34.
Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 14.
2. To express a wish to obtain; to ask; to request; to petition.
Then she said, did I desire a son of my Lord? 2 Kings 4.
3. To require.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
2: an inclination to want things; "a man of many desires"
3: something that is desired v
1: feel or have a desire for; want strongly; "I want to go home now"; "I want my own room" [syn: desire, want]
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, trust, desire]
3: express a desire for

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (desired; desiring) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French desirer, from Latin desiderare, from de- + sider-, sidus heavenly body Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to long or hope for ; exhibit or feel desire for <desire success> 2. a. to express a wish for ; request <they desire an immediate answer> b. archaic to express a wish to ; ask 3. obsolete invite 4. archaic to feel the loss of intransitive verb to have or feel desire Synonyms: desire, wish, want, crave, covet mean to have a longing for. desire stresses the strength of feeling and often implies strong intention or aim <desires to start a new life>. wish sometimes implies a general or transient longing especially for the unattainable <wishes for permanent world peace>. want specifically suggests a felt need or lack <wants to have a family>. crave stresses the force of physical appetite or emotional need <craves sweets>. covet implies strong envious desire <covets his rise to fame>. II. noun Date: 14th century 1. conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment 2. a. longing, craving b. sexual urge or appetite 3. a usually formal request or petition for some action 4. something desired

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a an unsatisfied longing or craving. b an expression of this; a request (expressed a desire to rest). 2 lust. 3 something desired (achieved his heart's desire). --v.tr. 1 (often foll. by to + infin., or that + clause) long for; crave. 2 request (desires a cup of tea). 3 archaic pray, entreat, or command (desire him to wait). Etymology: ME f. OF desir f. desirer f. L desiderare DESIDERATE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Desire De*sire", n. [F. d['e]sir, fr. d['e]sirer. See Desire, v. t.] 1. The natural longing that is excited by the enjoyment or the thought of any good, and impels to action or effort its continuance or possession; an eager wish to obtain or enjoy. Unspeakable desire to see and know. --Milton. 2. An expressed wish; a request; petition. And slowly was my mother brought To yield consent to my desire. --Tennyson. 3. Anything which is desired; an object of longing. The Desire of all nations shall come. --Hag. ii. 7. 4. Excessive or morbid longing; lust; appetite. 5. Grief; regret. [Obs.] --Chapman. Syn: Wish; appetency; craving; inclination; eagerness; aspiration; longing.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Desire De*sire", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desired; p. pr. & vb. n. Desiring.] [F. d['e]sirer, L. desiderare, origin uncertain, perh. fr. de- + sidus star, constellation, and hence orig., to turn the eyes from the stars. Cf. Consider, and Desiderate, and see Sidereal.] 1. To long for; to wish for earnestly; to covet. Neither shall any man desire thy land. --Ex. xxxiv. 24. Ye desire your child to live. --Tennyson. 2. To express a wish for; to entreat; to request. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? --2 Kings iv. 28. Desire him to go in; trouble him no more. --Shak. 3. To require; to demand; to claim. [Obs.] A doleful case desires a doleful song. --Spenser. 4. To miss; to regret. [Obs.] She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies. --Jer. Taylor. Syn: To long for; hanker after; covet; wish; ask; request; solicit; entreat; beg. Usage: To Desire, Wish. In desire the feeling is usually more eager than in wish. ``I wish you to do this'' is a milder form of command than ``I desire you to do this,'' though the feeling prompting the injunction may be the same. --C. J. Smith.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(desires, desiring, desired) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A desire is a strong wish to do or have something. I had a strong desire to help and care for people... They seem to have lost their desire for life. N-COUNT: oft N to-inf, N for n 2. If you desire something, you want it. (FORMAL) She had remarried and desired a child with her new husband... But Fred was bored and desired to go home... VERB: no cont, V n, V to-inf • desired You may find that just threatening this course of action will produce the desired effect... ADJ: ADJ n 3. Desire for someone is a strong feeling of wanting to have sex with them. Teenage sex, for instance, may come not out of genuine desire but from a need to get love. N-UNCOUNT 4. If you say that something leaves a lot to be desired, you mean that it is not as good as it should be. The selection of TV programmes, especially at the weekend, leaves a lot to be desired... PHRASE: V inflects [disapproval]

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

de-zir': The verb "to desire" in the Scriptures usually means "to long for," "to ask for," "to demand," and may be used in a good or bad sense (compare De 7:25 the King James Version). the Revised Version (British and American) frequently renders the more literal meaning of the Hebrew. Compare Job 20:20, "delight"; Pr 21:20, "precious"; Ps 40:6, "delight"; aiteo (except Col 1:9), and erotao (except Lu 7:36) are rendered "to ask" and zeteo, "to seek" (compare Lu 9:9 et. al.). The Hebrew kacaph, literally, "to lose in value," is translated (Zep 2:1) by "hath no shame" (the Revised Version, margin "longing," the King James Version "not desired"). The literal translation "to lose in value," "to degenerate," would be more in harmony with the context than the translations offered. The Hebrew chemdah (2Ch 21:20, "without being desired"), means according to the Arabic "to praise," "to give thanks." The context brings in contrast the burial of the king Jehoram with that of his fathers. In the latter case there was "burning," i.e. recognition and praise, but when Jehoram died, there was no chemdah, i.e. there was no praise for his services rendered to the kingdom. For "desire" in Ec 12:5, see CAPERBERRY.

A. L. Breslich

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Wish, will, aspiration. 2. Longing, craving, hankering, inclination, proclivity, impulse, drawing, appetency, appetite. 3. Sexual love, love, passion. 4. Brute passion, sexual appetite, lust. II. v. a. 1. Wish, crave, covet, want, fancy, wish for, long for, hanker after, lust after, yearn for, aspire after. 2. Solicit, request, ask.

Moby Thesaurus

Amor, Christian love, Eros, Platonic love, address, admiration, adoration, affection, agape, aim, aim at, ambition, andromania, animus, aphrodisia, appeal, appetence, appetency, appetite, appetition, application, apply for, ardency, ardor, ask, ask for, asking, aspiration, aspire, aspire after, aspire to, assumption, assurance, assured faith, attachment, avarice, bank on, be after, be desirous of, be in heat, beg leave, bespeak, biological urge, bodily appetite, bodily love, brotherly love, call for, caritas, carnal desire, catch, charity, cheerful expectation, choice, choose, choose to, come in, command, conation, conatus, concupiscence, confide, confidence, conjugal love, conviction, counsel, count on, covet, crave, craving, cupidity, dearest wish, decide, decision, decree, demand, dependence, desiderate, desideration, desideratum, desiderium, design, destine, determination, determine, devotion, discretion, disposition, doomed hope, drive at, effect, enjoy, entreaty, eromania, eros, eroticism, eroticomaniac, erotism, erotomania, estruate, expect, expectation, expressed desire, fair prospect, faith, faithful love, fancy, favor, feel confident, fervent hope, fervor, file for, fixed purpose, flame, fleshly lust, fondness, forbidden fruit, free choice, free love, free will, free-lovism, function, furor uterinus, glimmering goal, go for, goatishness, golden vision, good cheer, good hope, grab, grab at, great expectations, greed, gynecomania, hanker, hanker after, hankering, harbor a design, harbor the hope, have designs on, have every intention, heart, hero worship, high hopes, hope, hope against hope, hope and pray, hope for, hope in, hope to God, hopeful prognosis, hopefulness, hopes, hoping, hoping against hope, horniness, hot blood, hot pants, hunger, hungering, idea, idolatry, idolism, idolization, impetration, importune, inclination, indecency, indent, infantile sexuality, intend, intendment, intent, intention, itch, itch for, jump at, lasciviousness, lean upon, lecherousness, lechery, libidinousness, libido, lickerishness, like, liking, live in hopes, lodestone, long, long for, longing, love, lovemaking, lust, lust after, lustfulness, magnet, make a request, make a requisition, make application, married love, mean, meaning, mind, motive, nisus, nurture the hope, nymphomania, objective, order, pant, passion, petition, physical love, pine, pine for, pining, plan, pleasure, plum, point, polymorphous perversity, popular regard, popularity, prayerful hope, prefer, presume, presumption, prize, project, promise, proposal, propose, prospect, prospects, prospectus, prurience, pruriency, purport, purpose, put in for, rapacity, regard, reliance, rely on, request, require, requirement, requisition, resolution, resolve, rest assured, rut, sake, salaciousness, sanguine expectation, satyriasis, satyrism, security, see fit, sentiment, sex, sexual desire, sexual longing, sexual love, sexual passion, shine, sigh for, snatch, snatch at, solicit, spiritual love, striving, study, summon, take to, temptation, tender feeling, tender passion, think, think fit, think good, think proper, thirst, thirsting, trophy, truelove, trust, urge, uxoriousness, velleity, venereal appetite, view, volition, want, weakness, well-grounded hope, whistle for, will, will power, wish, wish for, wish to goodness, wish very much, worship, would fain do, yearn, yearn for, yearning, yen