- present participle of want.
wanting
Americanadjective
-
lacking or absent.
a motor with some of the parts wanting.
-
deficient in some part, thing, or respect.
to be wanting in courtesy.
preposition
-
lacking; without.
a box wanting a lid.
-
less; minus.
a century wanting three years.
adjective
-
lacking or absent; missing
-
not meeting requirements or expectations
you have been found wanting
preposition
-
without
-
archaic minus
Etymology
Origin of wanting
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (adjective); want + -ing 2
Explanation
If something's wanting, there's not enough of something necessary in it. If your essay is wanting, it's missing something important and won't get an A. Try adding body paragraphs. If you forget the sugar in your chocolate chip cookies, you'll find them wanting when you taste them. Likewise, if your favorite team's defense is wanting, they're likely to lose the basketball game. Wanting, which was originally wantand, comes from the verb want, "to be lacking." This definition pre-dated the now more common "to wish for" by 500 years.
Vocabulary lists containing wanting
Nobody's Home: Synonyms For "Absent"
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Absent
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Lacking
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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.
“I used to have kind of a thing about pop music, like wanting to make pop music is lame,” she explains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
“My decision to retire was out of need versus out of wanting to,” said Dee Moore, 65.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Just wanting to be a part of that roll call is difficult.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Not wanting to go to school or go out, her support worker Russell helped her, and she started going out once or twice a week.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
I kept wanting to say something, but didn’t want to risk the rejection if it turned out I wasn’t invited.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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.
