desire

1. 1.

   the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state

   Broaderfeeling

   Narrowerambitionbloodlusttemptationcravingwishlongingsexual desireurgecaprice
2. 2.

   an inclination to want things

   “a man of many desires”

   Broadertendency

   Narrowerhungergreed
3. 3.

   something that is desired

   Broaderarousal

   Narrowerragematerialism

1. 1.

   feel or have a desire for; want strongly

   “I want to go home now”

   “I want my own room”

   Synonymswant

   Narrowercravefancymisshopewishitchlikeambitionfeel likeenvy
2. 2.

   expect and wish

   “I trust you will behave better from now on”

   “I hope she understands that she cannot expect a raise”

   Synonymshopetrust

   Broaderwish
3. 3.

   express a desire for

   Broaderrequest

Other forms of desire

plural

desires·

past tense

desired·

present participle

desiring·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about desire

What does desire mean?

desire means "the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state". That is the primary sense; the word has 6 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in desire?

desire has 3 syllables, though it cannot be divided in writing — the spelling has fewer vowels than the word has beats. In IPA it is /dɪˈzaɪɚ/.

What is another word for desire?

Close synonyms include want, hope, trust. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is desire a common word?

desire is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.