desideratum
Americannoun
plural
desideratanoun
Etymology
Origin of desideratum
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin, noun use of neuter past participle of dēsīderāre; desiderate
Explanation
A desideratum is something you desire or want. It's a fancy word for a must-have. This official-sounding Latin word means something very common: anything you want or need. A new book could be a desideratum. A chocolate cake could be a desideratum. More commonly, a desideratum is something that is truly needed, like food or shelter. For many people, a happy marriage is a desideratum. For a politician, getting elected is a desideratum. You can almost see the word desire in desideratum, and that should help you remember it’s an object of desire.
Vocabulary lists containing desideratum
The Federalist Papers, No. 10 by James Madison
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"The Federalist No. 10," Vocabulary from the argument
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The Federalist No. 10 by James Madison
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Diversity isn’t necessarily an ethical desideratum in a collection.
From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2021
Airports supply the greatest desideratum of physical retail: foot traffic.
From Slate • Sep. 7, 2017
Moreover, our journeys through this maze of quantification are subjected to the most accurate possible computer modelling, with a view to achieving that quintessentially modern desideratum: smooth traffic flow.
From BBC • Jan. 18, 2013
So, even though Explaining Religion did not actually achieve its rather ambitious eponymous goal, it has found some promising avenues of investigation, and led to that great desideratum of science, more research.
From Economist • Apr. 20, 2011
Those mountains heralded the approach of my desideratum.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
