desideratum

[ dih-sid-uh-rey-tuh m, -rah-, -zid- ]

/ dɪˌsɪd əˈreɪ təm, -ˈrɑ-, -ˌzɪd- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR desideratum ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural de·sid·er·a·ta [dih-sid-uh-rey-tuh, -rah-, -zid-] /dɪˌsɪd əˈreɪ tə, -ˈrɑ-, -ˌzɪd-/.

something wanted or needed.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

desiccation, desiccator, desiderata, desiderate, desiderative, desideratum, desiderium, design, designate, designated, designated driver

Origin of desideratum

1645–55; < Latin, noun use of neuter past participle of dēsīderāre; see desiderate

Definition for desideratum (2 of 2)

desiderata

[ dih-sid-uh-rey-tuh, -rah-, -zid- ]

/ dɪˌsɪd əˈreɪ tə, -ˈrɑ-, -ˌzɪd- /

plural noun, singular de·sid·er·a·tum.

things wanted or needed; the plural of desideratum: “Happily-ever-after” and “eternal love” appear to be the desiderata of the current generation; to whom “fat chance” say those of us who are older, wiser, and more curmudgeonly.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for desideratum

To produce and to sell securities in the greatest possible quantity—that was the desideratum.'
Goldman's Crisis Control|Michael Thomas|July 21, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I will now describe one or two methods employed to effect this desideratum.
Magic|Ellis Stanyon
The desideratum is a really rough day, but that at Valencia is past praying for.
Unexplored Spain|Abel Chapman
The choice of soaps has considerable influence in promoting and maintaining this desideratum.
The Ladies Book of Useful Information|Anonymous

There is no sentiment in botany or in chemistry, and in them the desideratum is truth.
Madame Bovary|Gustave Flaubert
An up-to-date history of Chinese education is still a desideratum.
A history of China., [3d ed. rev. and enl.]|Wolfram Eberhard

British Dictionary definitions for desideratum (1 of 2)

desideratum

/ (dɪˌzɪdəˈrɑːtəm) /

noun plural -ta (-tə)

something lacked and wanted

Word Origin for desideratum

C17: from Latin; see desiderate

British Dictionary definitions for desideratum (2 of 2)

desiderata

/ (dɪˌzɪdəˈrɑːtə) /

noun

the plural of desideratum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for desideratum (1 of 2)

desideratum

"something lacking," see desiderata.

Word Origin and History for desideratum (1 of 2)

desiderata

plural of desideratum (1650s), from Latin, literally "something for which desire is felt," from past participle stem of desiderare "to long for" (see desire).