desire

See also: désire, désiré, Désiré, and Desiré

English

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)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: de‧sire

Verb

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

1. 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; […]

2. 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.

3. To want emotionally or sexually.

   She has desired him since they first met.

4. 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.

5. To require; to demand; to claim.
   • c. 1580, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses:

     A doleful case desires a doleful song.

6. 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

Conjugation of desire

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
subjunctive	desire	desired
imperative	desire	—
participles	desiring	desired

^†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

• desired effect
• desiring-production
• leave a lot to be desired
• leave much to be desired

 

Related terms

• desideratum
• desirability
• desirable
• desirableness
• sidereal
• undesirability
• undesirableness

 

Translations

desire — see want

wish for earnestly

• Arabic: رَغِبَ‎ (raḡiba)
• Armenian: ցանկանալ (hy) (cʿankanal)
• 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)
• 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
• 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) (cʿankanal)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)

1. (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; […].

2. (uncountable) Strong attraction, particularly romantic or sexual.

   His desire for her kept him awake at night.

3. (uncountable) The feeling of desiring; an eager longing for something.

   Too much desire can seriously affect one’s judgment.

4. (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

• alphabet of desire
• baptism of desire
• desire line
• desire path
• heart's desire

 

Related terms

• desirable
• desiring-production
• desirous

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) (cʿankutʿyun), իղձ (hy) (iġj)
• Asturian: deséu m
• Aymara: please add this translation if you can
• Azerbaijani: arzu (az), nəfs (az)
• Bashkir: теләк (teläk)
• Basque: gogo, nahi, desira
• Belarusian: жада́нне n (žadánnje)
• Bengali: ইচ্ছা (bn) (iccha), তামান্না (bn) (tamanna), আরজু (bn) (arju), আরমান (bn) (arman), খায়েশ (bn) (khaẏeś)
• 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)
• 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 (kk) (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, vēlme (lv)
• Lithuanian: troškimas m, noras (lt) m, pageidavimas m
• Macedonian: желба f (želba)
• Malay: keinginan
• Malayalam: ആഗ്രഹം (ml) (āgrahaṁ), മോഹം (ml) (mōhaṁ)
• Maltese: please add this translation if you can
• 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) (kirkʿ)
• Azerbaijani: istək (az)
• Bengali: বাসনা (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
• 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)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: begjær (no) n, attrå m

• Occitan: désir 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) (cʿankutʿyun), 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)
• 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)

See also

• velleity

Further reading

• “desire”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “desire”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Seider, desier, eiders, eresid, redies, reside

Italian

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)

1. (poetic, archaic) desire

   Synonym: desiderio

Related terms

• desio
• desirare

Further reading

• desire in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• derise, resedi, risedé, sederi

Middle English

Noun

desire

1. desire
   • 1470–1483 (date produced), 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

Romanian

Etymology

From desi +‎ -re.

Noun

desire f (plural desiri)

1. thickening

Declension

Declension of desire

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(o) desire	desirea	(niște) desiri	desirile
genitive/dative	(unei) desiri	desirii	(unor) desiri	desirilor
vocative	desire, desireo		desirilor

References

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