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wanting

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wanting¹

  • /ˈwɑntɪŋ/ US
  • /ˈwɒntɪŋ/ UK

Rhymes with -ɒntɪŋ

Where it comes from

From Middle English wantyng, wantynge, wantand, equivalent to want + -ing.

adjective more wanting · most wanting

  1. That wants or desires.
  2. Absent or lacking. Already Cæſar Has ravaged more than half the Globe, and ſees Mankind grown thin by his deſtructive Sword: Should he go further, Numbers would be wanting To form new Battels, and ſupport his Crimes.
  3. Deficient. Kate felt privileged to have been permitted to speak through it and she was glad that, as before, she had been judged and not found wanting

preposition

  1. Without, except, but.
  2. Less, short of, minus.

verb

  1. gerund, participle, present present participle and gerund of want

wanting²

  • /ˈwɑntɪŋ/ US
  • /ˈwɒntɪŋ/ UK

Rhymes with -ɒntɪŋ

Where it comes from

From Middle English wantyng, wantynge, equivalent to want + -ing.

noun wantings

  1. countable, uncountable The state of wanting something; desire. Choice occurs only when we experience a conflict of wantings.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: absent, missing, deficient, inadequate, lacking, nonexistent, desire, desiring, wishing, willingness, trying, will, looking, seeking, poor, hoping

Translations

Every language

adj absent or lacking

Portuguêsdeficiente, desprovido, faltante

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Cite this
MLA

"wanting." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wanting. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

wanting. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wanting

Chicago

"wanting." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wanting.

BibTeX
@misc{wanting_2026,
  title = {wanting},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wanting},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}