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.

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