desire

B1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /dɪˈzaɪɹ/ UK /dɪˈzaɪə/ See IPA manual

Freq #2198

Meanings

1

noun
A strong feeling of wanting something.

She had a strong desire to travel the world.
2

verb
To want something very much.

He desired nothing more than a quiet life in the country.
3

noun
A strong physical or sexual attraction to someone.

His eyes were full of desire.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

ambition appetite appetition aspiration aviditycacoethesconcupiscence craving cupidity dream fondness hankering

Opposites

apathy contempt disinterest distaste hatred

Word family

Forms desireddesiresdesiring

Derived forms counterdesiredesirablydesirefuldesirelessdesirementdesiring-productiondesirivemisdesirenondesireundesire

Related forms desideratum desirability desirable desirablenessdesiring-productiondesirous intention siderealundesirabilityundesirablenessvelleity

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Proverbs (1)

See all

What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve
Matching variant: What the eye does not admire the heart does not desire

Etymology

From Middle English desir, 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. The verb, along with Old Norse derived want (verb), has mostly replaced native will in modern English.

desir Middle English desirer Old French dēsīderō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# desire

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈzaɪɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈzaɪə/
**Frequency rank:** 2198

## Meanings
1. A strong feeling of wanting something.
2. To want something very much.
3. A strong physical or sexual attraction to someone.

## Examples
- She had a strong desire to travel the world.
- He desired nothing more than a quiet life in the country.
- His eyes were full of desire.

## Synonyms
- ambition
- appetite
- appetition
- aspiration
- avidity
- cacoethes
- concupiscence
- craving
- cupidity
- dream
- fondness
- hankering

## Antonyms
- apathy
- contempt
- disinterest
- distaste
- hatred

## Derived Forms
- counterdesire
- desirably
- desireful
- desireless
- desirement
- desiring-production
- desirive
- misdesire
- nondesire
- undesire

## Related Forms
- desideratum
- desirability
- desirable
- desirableness
- desiring-production
- desirous
- intention
- sidereal
- undesirability
- undesirableness
- velleity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: desir
- Root: desirer
- Root: dēsīderō

## Etymology
From Middle English desir, 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. The verb, along with Old Norse derived want (verb), has mostly replaced native will in modern English.

## AI Etymology
desire comes from Middle English desir, 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. The verb, along with Old Norse derived want (verb), has mostly replaced native will in modern English. Current senses include A strong feeling of wanting something and to want something very much. English relatives and later formations include counterdesire, desirably, desireful, desideratum, desirability.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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