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:
You do whatever you want; I’m not offended by any of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
"We want to be more consistent but this was a really good step. It's positive energy we want to capitalise on, but it's only a step."
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
"We are here for one reason: we want to stay in our country and not have to dream of a life elsewhere," Rosela Mira, a first-year medical student, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
“These are what we call deep listening sessions,” he explained, “so when you walk in, there isn’t any music playing. We want to ensure a pristine listening environment when we’re in the hi-fi room.”
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026
I don’t want the old man’s face to be the last thing I see.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
"What the regime wants is to intimidate, silence and frighten society through such pressure -- by arresting individual journalists, seizing media outlets, banning news coverage and blocking access to social media," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
John Healey has made it clear publicly and to staff, that he wants to encourage people with the guts and drive to start a business.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Now she wants me to leave my home to her two children.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
Plus, inside the California bullet-train debacle, how a disappearing Rio Grande is reshaping the Southwest, and why the U.S. wants to deploy floating nuclear reactors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
The Japanese Armed Forces have flooded into the school, looking for contraband, and she wants to warn as many people as she can.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Bob Hertzberg, former Senate Majority Leader and the architect of the proposal, said he wanted Proposition 37 to spur new construction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
“The demand is higher than the capability. So if you and I wanted to launch something into space, we would have to stand in last in the queue,” said Rear Adm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
He couldn’t change if he wanted to, but would you really want him to?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
The special power was revealed to be a double dagger enabling "the trustworthy trio", as James A is now calling them, to award two banishment votes to whoever they wanted to hold it.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
“Yes. It’s what I loved most about her. I always wanted to learn. Enslaved, I was forbidden to read or write. Free, I’m too busy working. Too tired trying to survive.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
“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
"It's hard work, so there's huge problems with people wanting to do exercise. If we can make it short, we're part way there."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
Paige Campbell became a nurse during the pandemic, wanting to make a difference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Sensing Duane’s disappointment, and genuinely wanting to show some gratitude for his new name, Handsome added, “Otherwise, I’d be more than willing to continue on.”
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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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