Wish vs. Want

Wishnoun

A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.

Wantverb

(transitive) To wish for or desire (something); to feel a need or desire for; to crave or demand.

‘What do you want to eat?’; ‘I want you to leave.’; ‘never wanted to go back to live with my mother.’; ‘want to be an astronaut when I'm older.’; ‘don't want him to marry Gloria, I’; ‘want him to marry me!’; ‘What do you want from me?’; ‘you want anything from the shops?’;

Wishnoun

An expression of such a desire, often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power.

Wantverb

To wish, desire, or demand to see, have the presence of or do business with.

‘Ma’am, you are exactly the professional we want for this job.’; ‘Danish police want him for embezzlement.’;

Wishnoun

The thing desired or longed for.

‘My dearest wish is to see them happily married.’;

Wantverb

(transitive) To lack and be in need of or require (something, such as a noun or verbal noun).

‘That chair wants fixing.’;

Wishnoun

(Sussex) A water meadow.

Wantverb

(transitive) To lack and be without, to not have (something).

Wishverb

(transitive) To desire; to want.

‘I'll come tomorrow, if you wish it.’;

Wantverb

To lack and (be able to) do without.

Wishverb

To hope (for a particular outcome).

Wantverb

(transitive) To have occasion for (something requisite or useful); to require or need.

Wishverb

(ditransitive) To bestow (a thought or gesture) towards (someone or something).

‘We wish you a Merry Christmas.’;

Wantverb

(intransitive) To desire (to experience desire); to wish.

‘the cat wants back out again; you can leave if you want’;

Wishverb

To request or desire to do an activity.

Wantverb

To be lacking or deficient or absent.

‘There was something wanting in the play.’;

Wishverb

(transitive) To recommend; to seek confidence or favour on behalf of.

Wantverb

To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack.

Wishverb

To have a desire or yearning; to long; to hanker.

‘They cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.’; ‘This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for.’;

Wantverb

To be advised to do something should, ought}}.

‘You’ll want to repeat this three or four times to get the best result.’;

Wishverb

To desire; to long for; to hanker after; to have a mind or disposition toward.

‘I would not wishAny companion in the world but you.’; ‘I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper.’;

Wantnoun

(countable) A desire, wish, longing.

Wishverb

To frame or express desires concerning; to invoke in favor of, or against, any one; to attribute, or cal down, in desire; to invoke; to imprecate.

‘I would not wish them to a fairer death.’; ‘I wish it may not prove some ominous foretoken of misfortune to have met with such a miser as I am.’; ‘Let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil.’;

Wantnoun

}} Lack, absence.

Wishverb

To recommend; to seek confidence or favor in behalf of.

‘I would be glad to thrive, sir,And I was wished to your worship by a gentleman.’;

Wantnoun

(uncountable) Poverty.

Wishnoun

Desire; eager desire; longing.

‘Behold, I am according to thy wish in God a stead.’;

Wantnoun

Something needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt.

Wishnoun

Expression of desire; request; petition; hence, invocation or imprecation.

‘Blistered be thy tongue for such a wish.’;

Wantnoun

A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place.

Wishnoun

A thing desired; an object of desire.

‘Will he, wise, let loose at once his ire . . . To give his enemies their wish!’;

Wantnoun

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 devourFor want of other prey.’; ‘From having wishes in consequence of our wants, we often feel wants in consequence of our wishes.’; ‘Pride is as loud a beggar as want, and more saucy.’;

Wishnoun

a specific feeling of desire;

‘he got his wish’; ‘he was above all wishing and desire’;

Wantnoun

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.’;

Wishnoun

an expression of some desire or inclination;

‘I could tell that it was his wish that the guests leave’; ‘his crying was an indirect request for attention’;

Wantnoun

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.’;

Wishnoun

(usually plural) a polite expression of desire for someone's welfare;

‘give him my kind regards’; ‘my best wishes’;

Wantnoun

A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place.

Wishnoun

the particular preference that you have;

‘it was his last wish’; ‘they should respect the wishes of the people’;

Wantverb

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.’; ‘Nor think, though men were none,That heaven would want spectators, God want praise.’; ‘The unhappy never want enemies.’;

Wishverb

hope for; have a wish;

‘I wish I could go home now’;

Wantverb

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.

Wishverb

prefer or wish to do something;

‘Do you care to try this dish?’; ‘Would you like to come along to the movies?’;

Wantverb

To feel need of; to wish or long for; to desire; to crave.

‘I want to speak to you about something.’;

Wishverb

have in mind;

‘I will take the exam tomorrow’;

Wantverb

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.’;

Wishverb

make or express a wish;

‘I wish that Christmas were over’;

Wantverb

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.’; ‘For as in bodies, thus in souls, we findWhat wants in blood and spirits, swelled with wind.’;

Wishverb

feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of

Wantnoun

a state of extreme poverty

Wishverb

order politely; express a wish for

Wantnoun

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’;

Wishverb

invoke upon;

‘wish you a nice evening’; ‘bid farewell’;

Wantnoun

anything that is necessary but lacking;

‘he had sufficient means to meet his simple needs’; ‘I tried to supply his wants’;

Wishverb

feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that cannot or probably will not happen

‘he wished that he had practised the routines’; ‘we wished for peace’;

Wantnoun

a specific feeling of desire;

‘he got his wish’; ‘he was above all wishing and desire’;

Wishverb

express a hope that (someone) enjoys (happiness or success)

‘they wish her every success’;

Wantverb

feel or have a desire for; want strongly;

‘I want to go home now’; ‘I want my own room’;

Wishverb

want to do something

‘they wish to become involved’;

Wantverb

have need of;

‘This piano wants the attention of a competent tuner’;

Wishverb

want (something) to be done or happen

‘I wish it to be clearly understood’;

Wantverb

wish or demand the presence of;

‘I want you here at noon!’;

Wishverb

want (someone) to do or have something

‘Anne wishes me to visit her’;

Wantverb

hunt or look for; want for a particular reason;

‘Your former neighbor is wanted by the FBI’; ‘Uncle Sam wants you’;

Wishverb

hope that (someone) has to deal with someone or something undesirable

‘he wouldn't wish Arthur on anyone’;

Wantverb

be without, lack; be deficient in;

‘want courtesy’; ‘want the strength to go on living’; ‘flood victims wanting food and shelter’;

Wishnoun

a desire or hope for something to happen

‘the union has reiterated its wish for an agreement’; ‘her wish to be a mother’;

Wantverb

have a desire to possess or do (something); wish for

‘we want to go to the beach’; ‘she wanted me to leave’; ‘I'll give you a lift into town if you want’; ‘I want an apple’;

Wishnoun

an expression of a desire, typically in the form of a request or instruction

‘she must carry out her late father's wishes’;

Wantverb

wish to speak to (someone)

‘Tony wants me in the studio’;

Wishnoun

an invocation or recitation of a hope or desire

‘he makes a wish’;

Wantverb

(of a suspected criminal) be sought by the police for questioning

‘he is wanted by the police in connection with an arms theft’;

Wishnoun

an expression of a hope for someone's success, happiness, or welfare

‘the Queen had sent her best wishes for a speedy recovery’;

Wantverb

desire (someone) sexually

‘I've wanted you since the first moment I saw you’;

Wishnoun

a thing that is or has been wished for

‘the petitioners eventually got their wish’;

Wantverb

desire to be in or out of a particular place or situation

‘if anyone wants out, there's the door’;

Wish

A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices.

Wantverb

should or need to do something

‘you don't want to believe everything you hear’;

Wantverb

(of a thing) require to be attended to in a specified way

‘the wheel wants greasing’;

Wantverb

lack something desirable or essential

‘you shall want for nothing while you are with me’;

Wantverb

(chiefly used in expressions of time) lack or be short of (a specified amount or thing)

‘it wanted twenty minutes to midnight’;

Wantnoun

a lack or deficiency of something

‘for want of a better location we ate our picnic in the cemetery’; ‘Victorian houses which are in want of repair’;

Wantnoun

the state of being poor and in need of essentials; poverty

‘freedom from want’;

Wantnoun

a desire for something

‘the expression of our wants and desires’;

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.