1
as in to crave
to have an earnest wish to own or enjoy
I want a new car so badly!
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to wish
to see fit
do what you want
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in to like
to wish to have
I want some ice cream for dessert, please
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in lack
the fact or state of being absent
the proverb that begins, "for want of a nail, the shoe was lost"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in failing
a defect in character
she's well-meaning and kind, but her besetting want is a complete lack of tact
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of want
Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 18 June 2026
Supporters say the gambling money is a godsend for ranchers, fishermen, paddlers and others who want to protect the state’s water and those who depend on it for their livelihoods.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 18 June 2026
Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026
Their thinly sketched roles only underscore the welcome presence of Nate’s three daughters, who — while individualized with distinct wants and needs — maintain a feminine alliance that gives the story its heart.
—Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for want
Verb
Researchers first want to pin down the minimum effective dose in animals.
—Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 18 June 2026
Supporters say the gambling money is a godsend for ranchers, fishermen, paddlers and others who want to protect the state’s water and those who depend on it for their livelihoods.
—Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 18 June 2026
Noun
For want of a quicker third out in any of the first three innings and an even slightly more potent offense, the Padres might have won Tuesday night.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026
Their thinly sketched roles only underscore the welcome presence of Nate’s three daughters, who — while individualized with distinct wants and needs — maintain a feminine alliance that gives the story its heart.
—Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for want
Recent Examples of Synonyms for want
Verb
-
This generation craves a future worth preparing for, and employers have a unique opportunity to provide financial access and education that can help get them there.—
Julia Bartak,
Fortune,
21 June 2026
-
Ravenous fans craved news about the calf that Pulisic injured last week, first in training, then in a dominant 4-1 win over Paraguay.—
Henry Bushnell,
New York Times,
20 June 2026
Verb
-
Riccobono said that the training needs to start with something as basic as the right way to approach a blind passenger.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
-
The commission would need to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature within 18 months of its first meeting.—
Nick Lentz,
CBS News,
22 June 2026
Verb
-
Of course, those who work in comedy wish the streamer would talk to more comics.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
16 June 2026
-
Habermas wished, in a sense, to vacate the hotel and traverse the abyss outside.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
And on the other hand, there've been some folks who would like to see me out every day, right, banging the drum.—
Mark Guarino,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
-
Tom and Evan hear eight bell tolls at the close of the finale, suggesting that Widow’s Bay would like another eight souls.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Detainees at the facility have reported a lack of access to lawyers and poor physical conditions, including worms in the food, toilets that do not flush, floors flooding with fecal waste and insects everywhere.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2026
-
In today’s food environment, addiction to UPFs should not be written off as a lack of personal willpower, said Forman, who researches ultraprocessed food addiction.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
The Crimean peninsula has had periodic fuel shortages from Ukrainian strikes before, but the current crisis is the worst since its 2014 annexation.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 June 2026
-
Novelli said one of the reasons many kids in New Haven are still behind in reading is a shortage of pre-kindergarten education.—
Theo Peck-Suzuki,
Hartford Courant,
21 June 2026
Noun
-
North Side schools have remained dominant in bringing in this outside funding, but some higher-poverty South and West Side campuses such as Kenwood increasingly held their own.—
Mila Koumpilova,
Chicago Tribune,
22 June 2026
-
Those concerns already exist within New Haven, and leaders would need to balance the existence of more than $1 billion in combined economic investment into local quantum efforts with the needs of a city where one quarter of residents lived in poverty in 2023.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
22 June 2026
Noun
-
Tordillos noted that the potential shortfall from the hotel tax failing would have been just a fraction of the threat posed by the November ballot measure.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
-
The outsize failings of the men in power demand a grand reimagining of the consequences of those failings, and Helen of Nowhere offers up, exhilaratingly and naughtily, a myth for the man who needs to be shuffled offstage one way or another.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Want.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/want. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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