desire

See also: désire, désiré, Désiré, and Desiré

Etymology

From Middle English desire (noun) and desiren (verb), from Old French desirer, desirrer, from Latin dēsīderō (“to long for, desire, feel the want of, miss, regret”), apparently from de- + sidus (in the phrase de sidere, "from the stars") in connection with astrological hopes. Compare consider and desiderate. Displaced native Old English wilnung (“desire”) and wilnian (“to desire”).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) enPR: dĭ-zīrʹ, dĭ-zīʹər, IPA^(key): /dɪˈzaɪə/
(General American) enPR: dĭ-zīrʹ, dĭ-zīʹər, dē-zīrʹ, dē-zīʹər, IPA^(key): /dɪˈzaɪɹ/, /dɪˈzaɪɚ/, /diˈzaɪɹ/, /diˈzaɪɚ/
Audio (US): (file)
Hyphenation: de‧sire
Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

Verb

desire (third-person singular simple present desires, present participle desiring, simple past and past participle desired)

To want; to wish for earnestly.
I desire to speak with you.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 34:24:
  Neither shall any man desire thy land.
- 1874, Alfred Tennyson, “Lancelot and Elaine”, in Idylls of the King (The Works of Alfred Tennyson; VI), cabinet edition, London: Henry S. King & Co., […], →OCLC, page 88:
  [S]eeing you desire your child to live, / Thanks, but you work against your own desire; […]
To put a request to (someone); to entreat.
- 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:
  And when they founde no cause of deeth in hym, yet desired they Pilate to kyll him.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 15:
  Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.
To want emotionally or sexually.
She has desired him since they first met.
To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Kings 4:28:
  Then shee said, Did I desire a sonne of my Lord ? did I not say, Doe not deceiue me?
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vii]:
  Desire him to go in; trouble him no more.
To require; to demand; to claim.
- c. 1580, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses:
  A doleful case desires a doleful song.
To miss; to regret.
- 1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC:
  She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies.

Conjugation

More information infinitive, present tense ...

infinitive	(to) desire
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	desire	desired
2nd-person singular	desire, desirest^†	desired, desiredst^†
3rd-person singular	desires, desireth^†	desired
plural	desire	desired

subjunctive	desire	desired

imperative	desire	—

participles	desiring	desired

Close

Conjugation of desire

^†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

desire — see want

wish for earnestly

Arabic: رَغِبَ (raḡiba)
Armenian: ցանկանալ (hy) (cʻankanal)
Asturian: desear (ast)
Belarusian: жа́даць impf (žádacʹ)
Bulgarian: жела́я (bg) impf (želája), и́скам (bg) impf (ískam)
Burmese: မက် (my) (mak)
Catalan: desitjar (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 慾望 / 欲望 (zh) (yùwàng)
Czech: toužit (cs), přát si
Danish: ønske (da)
Dutch: wensen (nl), verlangen (nl)
Esperanto: deziri
Finnish: tahtoa (fi), mieliä (fi), haluta (fi)
French: désirer (fr)
Galician: desexar (gl)
German: begehren (de)
Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gairnjan), 𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐍉𐌽 (lustōn)
Greek: επιθυμώ (el) (epithymó)
Ancient: ἐπιθυμέω (epithuméō)
Hebrew: השתוקק (he) (hishtokék)
Hindi: इच्छा (hi) (icchā), चाह (hi) (cāh), कामना (hi) (kāmnā), अभिलाषा (hi) (abhilāṣā)
Hungarian: kíván (hu), óhajt (hu), vágyik (hu)
Ido: dezirar (io)
Indonesian: hasrat (id)
Interlingua: desirar
Irish:
Old Irish: ad·cobra
Japanese: 望む (ja) (のぞむ, nozomu), 願う (ja) (ねがう, negau), 欲する (ja) (ほっする, hossuru), 希望する
Kannada: ಬಯಕೆ (kn) (bayake), ಹಂಬಲ (kn) (hambala)
Korean: 바라다 (ko) (barada), 원하다 (ko) (wonhada), 원하다 (ko) (wonhada)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: نیاز (nyaz)
Lao: ຕ້ອງການ (tǭng kān)
Latgalian: gribēt, gaideit
Latin: cupiō, dēsīderō
Latvian: vēlēties (lv)
Lithuanian: trokšti, pageidauti
Macedonian: посакува (posakuva), посака (posaka)
Malayalam: ആഗ്രഹിക്കുക (ml) (āgrahikkuka)
Manx: mian, wooish, fooill, imnee
Maori: minaka
Marathi: इच्छा (mr) n (icchā)
Mongolian: хүсэх (mn) (xüsex)
Occitan: desirar (oc)
Persian: خواستن (fa) (xâstan), آرزو کردن (fa) (ârezu kardan)
Polish: pragnąć (pl), pożądać (pl)
Portuguese: desejar (pt)
Romanian: dori (ro)
Russian: жела́ть (ru) impf (želátʹ)
Sanskrit: गृध्यति (sa) (gṛdhyati), लषति (sa) (laṣati)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: жѐлети, жѐљети, жудети, жудјети

Roman: žèleti, žèljeti (sh), žudeti (sh), žudjeti (sh)
Slovak: túžiť, žiadať, želať si, priať si
Slovene: želeti (sl) impf
Spanish: desear (es)
Swahili: kutamani (sw)
Swedish: önska (sv), begära (sv), eftertrakta (sv), längta (sv)
Tamil: ஆசைப்படு (ācaippaṭu)
Telugu: ఆశ (te) (āśa), కోరిక (te) (kōrika), ఇచ్చ (te) (icca), అపేక్ష (te) (apēkṣa), అభిలాష (te) (abhilāṣa), వాంఛ (te) (vāñcha)
Thai: ต้องการ (th) (dtɔ̂ng-gaan), ประสงค์ (th) (bprà-sǒng), ปรารถนา (th) (bpràattànăa)
Tocharian B: kulyp-
Ukrainian: бажа́ти (uk) impf (bažáty)
Uzbek: xohlamoq (uz)
Walloon: djeryî (wa)
Yiddish: באַגערן (bagern)

want emotionally or sexually

Armenian: ցանկանալ (hy) (cʻankanal)
Asturian: desear (ast)
Azerbaijani: arzu etmək (az), arzulamaq (az)
Bulgarian: жела́я (bg) impf (želája), жаду́вам (bg) impf (žadúvam)
Catalan: desitjar (ca)
Czech: toužit (cs)
Danish: begære, attrå
Dutch: begeren (nl), verlangen (nl)
Finnish: himoita (fi)
French: désirer (fr)
Galician: desexar (gl)
German: begehren (de)
Greek: επιθυμώ (el) (epithymó), ποθώ (el) (pothó)
Hebrew: חשק (he) (khashák), השתוקק (he) (hishtokék)
Hindi: कामना (hi) (kāmnā), वासना (hi) (vāsnā)
Hungarian: kíván (hu), vágyik (hu)
Indonesian: hasrat (id)
Interlingua: desirar
Italian: desiderare (it), volere (it)
Japanese: 欲する (ja), 求める (ja)
Korean: 원하다 (ko) (wonhada)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: خواستن (xwastin)
Latin: desidero, cupio, volo (la)
Latvian: kāroties, kārot, alkt
Lithuanian: trokšti, geisti (lt)
Macedonian: посакува (posakuva), посака (posaka)
Maori: hōkaka
Persian: خواستن (fa) (xâstan), آرزو کردن (fa) (ârezu kardan)
Polish: pożądać (pl)
Portuguese: desejar (pt)
Russian: жела́ть (ru) impf (želátʹ), вожделе́ть (ru) impf (voždelétʹ)
Spanish: desear (es)
Swedish: begära (sv), åtrå (sv)
Thai: ต้องการ (th) (dtɔ̂ng-gaan), ใคร่ (th) (krâi)
Yiddish: באַגערן (bagern)
Zazaki: wazen, waşten

Noun

desire (usually uncountable, plural desires)

(uncountable) The feeling of desiring; an eager longing for something.
Too much desire can seriously affect one’s judgment.
- 1905, E. M. Forster, Where Angels Fear to Tread , chapter 7:
  He stood...filled with the desire that his son should be like him, and should have sons like him, to people the earth. It is the strongest desire that can come to a man - if it comes to him at all - stronger even than love or the desire for personal immortality.
(countable) Someone or something wished for.
It is my desire to speak with you.

You’re my heart’s desire.
- 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
  It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].
(uncountable) Strong attraction, particularly romantic or sexual.
His desire for her kept him awake at night.
(uncountable) Motivation. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Synonyms

(one or thing wished for): wanna, want-to; See also Thesaurus:desire
(motivation): wanna, want-to

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

something wished for

Afrikaans: begeerte, wens (af)
Albanian: dëshirë (sq) f
Amharic: please add this translation if you can
Arabic: رَغْبَة f (raḡba)
Aragonese: please add this translation if you can
Armenian: ցանկություն (hy) (cʻankutʻyun), իղձ (hy) (iġj)
Asturian: deséu m
Aymara: please add this translation if you can
Azerbaijani: arzu (az), nəfs (az)
Bashkir: теләк (telək)
Basque: gogo, nahi, desira
Belarusian: жада́нне n (žadánnje)
Bengali: ইচ্ছা (bn) (iccha), তামান্না (bn) (tamanna), আরজু (bn) (arju), আরমান (bn) (arman), খায়েশ (bn) (khaẏeś)
Bhojpuri: चाहत (cāhat)
Breton: c'hoant (br) m
Bulgarian: жела́ние (bg) n (želánie)
Buryat: дуран (duran)
Catalan: desig (ca) m
Cherokee: please add this translation if you can
Chinese:
Mandarin: 慾望/欲望 / 欲望/欲望, 欲望 (zh) (yùwàng), 願望 / 愿望 (zh) (yuànwàng)
Czech: přání (cs) n, touha (cs) f
Danish: ønske (da)
Dhivehi: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: verlangen (nl) n, wens (nl) m
Esperanto: deziro (eo)
Estonian: soov
Finnish: halu (fi)
French: désir (fr) m
Friulian: please add this translation if you can
Galician: desexo (gl) m, degoro (gl) m, devezo (gl) m, arela (gl) f, retento m, acexo m, xusgo m, gorromela f, enrónica f, engolemia f
Georgian: სურვილი (survili)
German: Begehren (de) n, Wunsch (de) m
Greek: επιθυμία (el) f (epithymía)
Ancient: ἐπιθύμημα n (epithúmēma)
Hausa: please add this translation if you can
Hawaiian: makemake, ʻiʻini, ʻanoʻi
Hebrew: חפץ (he) m (ḥefets)
Hindi: इच्छा (hi) (icchā), चाह (hi) (cāh), ख़्वाहिश (xvāhiś), चाहत (hi) (cāhat)
Hungarian: vágy (hu), kívánság (hu), óhaj (hu)
Icelandic: löngun (is) f
Ido: deziro (io)
Ilocano: anag, arem
Indonesian: keinginan (id), kemauan (id), kehendak (id)
Ingrian: iso, halu, himo, ohvotta
Irish: mian f
Italian: desiderio (it) m, voglia (it) f
Japanese: 願望 (ja) (ganbō), 大願 (ja), 宿願 (ja), 野望 (ja)
Kalmyk: дурн (durn)
Kazakh: тілек (tılek), ықылас (yqylas)
Khmer: បំណងប្រាថ្នា (bɑmnɑɑŋ pratnaa)
Korean: 욕망(欲望) (yongmang)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ئارەزوو (arezû), ئاوات (awat), دڵ خواز (dill xwaz)
Kyrgyz: тилек (ky) (tilek), каалоо (ky) (kaaloo)
Latin: voluntas, desiderium, studium (la), cupiditas, cupido (la)
Latvian: vēlēšanās (lv), vēlme (lv)
Lithuanian: troškimas m, noras (lt) m, pageidavimas m
Macedonian: желба (mk) f (želba)
Malay: keinginan (ms)
Malayalam: ആഗ്രഹം (ml) (āgrahaṁ), മോഹം (ml) (mōhaṁ)
Maltese: xewqa
Manx: mian m, dooill m
Marathi: ईच्छा (īcchā)
Mirandese: deseio
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: дур (mn) (dur), хүсэл (mn) (xüsel)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ønske (no) n
Old English: wilnung f
Persian: آرزو (fa) (ârezu)
Polish: pragnienie (pl) n, pożądanie (pl) n
Portuguese: desejo (pt) m
Romanian: dorință (ro) f, deziderat (ro) n
Russian: охо́та (ru) (oxóta), жела́ние (ru) n (želánije), пожела́ние (ru) n (poželánije)
Sanskrit: वनस् (sa) n (vanas), इच्छा (sa) f (icchā)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: жеља f, жудња f

Roman: želja (sh) f, žudnja (sh) f
Sinhalese: please add this translation if you can
Slovak: túžba f, želanie n
Slovene: želja (sl) f
Spanish: deseo (es) m
Swahili: ari (sw)
Swedish: önskan (sv), längtan (sv)
Tajik: орзу (orzu‍), хоҳиш (tg) (xohiš), майл (tg) (mayl), рағбат (raġbat)
Tamil: ஆசை (ta) (ācai)
Tatar: теләк (tt) (teläk)
Telugu: please add this translation if you can
Thai: ปรารถนา (th) (bpràattànăa), ความต้องการ (th) (kwaam dtông gaan)
Turkish: arzu (tr)
Turkmen: isleg
Ukrainian: бажа́ння (uk) n (bažánnja)
Urdu: خواہش f (xvāhiś), تمنا f (tamannā)
Uzbek: orzu (uz), ishtiyoq (uz), istak (uz), tilak (uz)
Vietnamese: mong muốn (vi)
Vilamovian: gyłysta
Volapük: desir (vo)
Yiddish: באַגער m (bager)

strong attraction

Armenian: կիրք (hy) (kirkʻ)
Azerbaijani: istək (az)
Bengali: বাসনা (bn) (baśona), কামনা (bn) (kamona)
Bulgarian: жела́ние (bg) n (želánie), жадуване (bg) n (žaduvane)
Catalan: desig (ca) m
Czech: touha (cs) f
Danish: begær, lyst (da)
Dutch: begeerte (nl) f
Estonian: iha, himu
Finnish: halu (fi)
French: désir (fr) m
Galician: desexo (gl) m
German: Begehren (de) n
Gothic: 𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 m (lustus), 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌴𐌹 f (gairnei)
Greek: επιθυμία (el) f (epithymía), πόθος (el) m (póthos)
Ancient: ἵμερος m (hímeros), ἐπιθυμία f (epithumía), πόθος m (póthos)
Hebrew: תשוקה (he) f (tshuqa)
Hindi: वासना (hi) f (vāsnā), कामना (hi) f (kāmnā)
Hungarian: vágy (hu), vonzalom (hu), vonzódás (hu)
Indonesian: hasrat (id)
Irish: mian f, dúil f, fonn m, saint (ga) f
Italian: desiderio (it) m
Javanese: niat
Khmer: បំណងប្រាថ្នា (bɑmnɑɑŋ pratnaa)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ئاواتی دڵ (awatî dill)
Latin: desiderium, studium (la), cupitas
Latvian: iekāre f, alkas pl
Lithuanian: geismas m, potraukis m, aistra f
Macedonian: копнеж m (kopnež), страст f (strast)
Malay: hasrat, nafsu
Malayalam: ആഗ്രഹം (ml) (āgrahaṁ)
Maori: hōkakatanga, taera
Norwegian:
Bokmål: begjær (no) n, attrå m
Occitan: desir (oc) m
Old English: lust
Old Javanese: tṛṣṇa
Persian: میل (fa) (meyl), خواهش (fa) (xâheš)
Polish: pożądanie (pl) n
Portuguese: desejo (pt) m
Romanian: dorință (ro) f
Russian: жела́ние (ru) n (želánije), вожделе́ние (ru) n (voždelénije), влече́ние (ru) n (vlečénije)
Serbo-Croatian: žudnja (sh) f
Slovene: poželenje n
Spanish: deseo (es) m
Swahili: ari (sw)
Swedish: begär (sv), åtrå (sv)
Telugu: ఆకర్షణ (te) (ākarṣaṇa)
Thai: ความใคร่ (th) (kwaam-krâi)
Tocharian B: kāwalyñe
Urdu: چاہت f (cāhat)
Yiddish: באַגער m (bager)

feeling of desire

Armenian: ցանկություն (hy) (cʻankutʻyun), իղձ (hy) (iġj)
Asturian: deséu m
Azerbaijani: istək (az)
Bulgarian: желание (bg) n (želanie)
Catalan: desig (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 慾望/欲望 / 欲望/欲望, 欲望 (zh) (yùwàng)
Czech: touha (cs) f, toužení n
Danish: lyst (da)
Finnish: halu (fi)
French: désir (fr) m
Galician: desexo (gl) m
German: Begehren (de) n
Gothic: 𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰 m (wilja)
Greek: πόθος (el) m (póthos)
Hebrew: תשוקה (he) f (tshuqa)
Hindi: कामना (hi) (kāmnā)
Hungarian: vágy (hu), vágyódás (hu), vágyakozás (hu)
Ido: deziro (io)
Irish: mian f, dúil f, fonn m, saint (ga) f
Italian: desiderio (it) m
Japanese: 欲望 (ja)
Kannada: ಡಿಸೈರ್ (ḍisair)
Khmer: បំណងប្រាថ្នា (bɑmnɑɑŋ pratnaa)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: حەز لێکردن (ḧez lêkirdin), ئاواتی دڵ (awatî dill)
Latin: desiderium, studium (la), cupitas
Latvian: iekāre f, alkas pl, kaisle f, kaislība f
Lithuanian: geismas m, aistra f
Macedonian: копнеж m (kopnež), страст f (strast)
Malayalam: മോഹം (ml) (mōhaṁ)
Manchu: ᠪᡠᠶᡝᠨ (buyen)
Manx: mian m, dooill m
Maori: minaka
Norwegian:
Bokmål: begjær (no) n, lyst (no) m
Old English: lust
Persian: خواهش (fa) (xâheš), کام (fa) (kâm), یاسه (fa) (yâse)
Portuguese: desejo (pt) m
Russian: жела́ние (ru) n (želánije), вожделе́ние (ru) n (voždelénije)
Sanskrit: तृष्णा (sa) f (tṛṣṇā)
Scottish Gaelic: drùis f, baois f, baoiseachd f, feòlmhorachd f
Slovene: poželenje n
Spanish: deseo (es) m, gana (es) f
Swahili: ari (sw)
Swedish: begär (sv), lust (sv), längtan (sv)
Tamil: விருப்பம் (ta) (viruppam), ஆசை (ta) (ācai)
Telugu: కోరిక (te) (kōrika), కుతి (te) (kuti)
Thai: ความใคร่ (th) (kwaam-krâi), ความปรารถนา (th) (kwaam bpràattànăa), ตัณหา (th) (dtan-hǎa)
Turkish: arzu hissi
Ukrainian: бажа́ння (uk) n (bažánnja)
Urdu: چاہت f (cāhat)
Yiddish: באַגער m (bager)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} birahi (id), ^{(please verify)} nafsu (id), ^{(please verify)} keinginan (id) , ^{(please verify)} kehendak (id)
Italian: (1,2) ^{(please verify)} desiderare (it)
Romanian: ^{(please verify)} dorință (ro) f, ^{(please verify)} vrere (ro) f
Telugu: ^{(please verify)} కోరిక (te) (kōrika), ^{(please verify)} కోరు (te) (kōru)

Anagrams

Seider, desier, eiders, eresid, redies, reside

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Alternative forms

desiro
disire, disiro

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Occitan dezire.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /deˈzi.re/
Rhymes: -ire
Hyphenation: de‧sì‧re

Noun

desire m (plural desiri)

(poetic, archaic) desire
Synonym: desiderio

Related terms

Anagrams

derise, resedi, risedé, sederi

Noun

desire

desire
- 1470–1483 (date produced), Thom̃s Malleorre [i.e., Thomas Malory], “[The Tale of King Arthur]”, in Le Morte Darthur (British Library Additional Manuscript 59678), [England: s.n.], folio 35, recto, lines 27–29:
  and ſo Merlyon wente forthe vnto kyng lodegean of Camylerde and tolde hym of the deſire of the kyng that þ^t he wolde haue vnto his wyff Gwenyu[er] his douȝt[er]
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants

English: desire

Etymology

From desi +‎ -re.

Noun

desire f (plural desiri)

thickening

Declension

More information singular, plural ...

	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
	singular		plural
nominative-accusative	desire	desirea	desiri	desirile
genitive-dative	desiri	desirii	desiri	desirilor
vocative	desire, desireo		desirilor

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References

desire in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

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Alternative forms

Etymology

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Noun

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Noun

Descendants

Etymology

Noun

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References

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Anagrams

Noun

Descendants

Etymology

Noun

Declension

References

English

Italian

Middle English

Romanian