v. 1 desire, crave, wish (for), long for, pine for, hope (for), fancy, covet, hanker after, lust after, hunger for or after, thirst for or after, yearn for, Colloq have a yen for I want you near me Ignore his crying - he just wants some ice-cream. Maybe he's crying because he wants to go. 2 need, lack, miss, require, call for, demand, be deficient in, be or stand in want or in need of, necessitate; be or fall short of This engine wants proper maintenance The bottle wants only a few more drops to fill it.
n. 3 need, lack, shortage, deficiency, dearth, scarcity, scarceness, insufficiency, scantiness, inadequacy, paucity For want of good writers, the literary quarterly diminished in size and finally disappeared 4 appetite, hunger, thirst, craving, desire, fancy, wish, longing, yearning, hankering, demand, necessity, requirement, requisite, prerequisite, Colloq yen She gave up trying to satisfy his wants 5 poverty, need, indigence, homelessness, destitution, privation, pauperism, penury, neediness, impecuniousness The civilized nations are trying to solve the problems of want, which seem to increase daily