found wanting

idiom

: lacking all that is needed or expected
The travel arrangements were found wanting.

Examples of found wanting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Each has been ethically challenged and found wanting: Mr. Trump by his long experience in the New York real-estate world, Mr. Biden by his 36 years in the Senate. Joseph Epstein, wsj.com, 2 May 2023 The outcome is school bookshelves devoid of books, because those that used to be there have been found wanting, or merely because no one has time to page through them in quest of textual nonconformities with white privilege. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2023 Your precious beliefs will be challenged and, at times, found wanting. Dede Henley, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2023 Born Joseph Alois Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, Benedict leaves behind a legacy admired by some and found wanting by others. Dallas News, 5 Jan. 2023 And in that aspect, the US has been found wanting in COP27, again. Soumya Sarkar, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2022 Though the first month on the project was bliss, by the second month Boniadi was more and more often found wanting. Chloe Walker, Longreads, 1 July 2022 Soon, however, sides were taken, and Matisse was found wanting. Vulture, 3 May 2022 The screenplay is found wanting when members start thinking about what the changes mean to them. Richard Kuipers, Variety, 3 Nov. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'found wanting.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near found wanting

Cite this Entry

“Found wanting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/found%20wanting. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!