want
Usage
What are other ways to say want?
The verb want, usually colloquial in use, suggests a feeling of lack or need that imperatively demands fulfillment: People all over the world want peace. Wish implies the feeling of an impulse toward attainment or possession of something; the strength of the feeling may be of greater or lesser intensity: I wish I could go home. Desire, a more formal verb, suggests a strong wish: They desire liberation.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Walmart said it typically changes digital price tags when stores are closed, in part because it doesn’t want to confuse shoppers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Not if the Rams want to make a run to the playoffs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026
Staff tell us there are strict criteria meaning only the least sick patients can be kept in these open spaces - but it's an experience both Margaret and Alan don't want to repeat.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
"I'm scared, but I want to believe it's going to work out."
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
I step forward to follow, because I don’t want to lose the warmth and hopefulness they bring to me.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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By criticizing forward guidance, Mr. Warsh sometimes sounds as if he wants a return to the bad old days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
But more than anything, he wants to understand Holmes as much as one person can possibly understand another — a patently impossible yet all-too-enticing undertaking.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
"When one of them wants to be a specific character, I search eBay or Vinted and I usually spend a quarter of the original price."
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
One official says: "Unless the prime minister has said something quite specific about something everyone is scrambling around trying to work out what he wants to do."
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Next summer I’ll be in Old Town Alexandria, seeing everything Jillian wants to share with me.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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"I wanted to be a part of this, and I wanted to be part of a movement," she told the BBC outside a polling station in the capital's Zvezdara district.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
At his final campaign rally in Plovdiv on Wednesday, Gyurov said he wanted Bulgaria to be "a reliable ally within NATO, defending its interests through solid preparedness, strong diplomacy and clear positions".
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
While some journalists twisted their movie and television coverage around major plot events, others tackled them head-on, writing “ending explained” and “twist revealed” articles for readers who wanted to skip to the point.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
Others wanted to prove that Bostonians could, in fact, be welcoming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
He wanted her to wake up to a breakfast that Grandma used to make.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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Assuming that would be the case, I sought out the film’s “twist” in an early review, wanting to confirm if my suspicions about Seyfried’s involvement were true.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
“Some of it had to do with not wanting to be in the crucible of rebuilding,” Knight said of the decision to sell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
Their demands vary, but they are united in wanting to make their often marginalised voices heard, sometimes even with radical methods in the face of heavy-handed policing.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
The business-software group is working on a metric to convey the impact of AI on its operations to appease investors wanting insight into the tech reshaping the industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
At one press conference, a reporter chimed in wanting to know about the snow-covered sides of the mountain and the glaciers at the top.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
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Vocabulary lists containing want
"A Modest Proposal," Vocabulary from the satire
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"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 3
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Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 2
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