Wants

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /wɑnts/

Definitions

1. A deep yearning for desired items or experiences can be described as preferences or individual aims
2. a fundamental requirement signifies essential conditions needed for fulfillment
3. A strong desire for possessions or experiences reflects personal aspirations and needs

Etymology: "Wants" is the third-person singular present of the verb "want", so its history is that of the verb. The verb came into English in the Middle Ages as "wanten", meaning "to lack" or "to need", borrowed from Old Norse "vanta", "to lack". Its deeper root is the Proto-Germanic idea of being "wanting", which grows from a noun for lack or deficiency. Old English already had a cognate, "wana", meaning want, lack or absence, so the Norse word was reinforcing a sense that English speakers already knew. The sense of emptiness runs deep. The same ancient root gives Latin "vanus", meaning empty, which is the source of "vain" and "vanish" in English, and Middle High German "wan" and Middle Dutch "wan", both meaning empty or poor. A lack of something was once the central meaning, and "wanting" a thing in the modern sense of desiring it grew out of that notion of missing something.

Synonyms: desires, craves, longs for, yearns for, needs

Antonyms: dislikes, rejects, abjures, spurns, renounces