desire
part of speech
noun (a desire, desires); verb (desire, desires, desired, desiring)
meaning for a pupil
1) noun: A desire is a strong wish or longing for something. tree →
2) verb (formal): To desire something means to want it very much. tree →
3) "Leaves a lot to be desired" means it is not very good. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: In the story of Cain, God says sin's "desire" is toward him but he can rule over it. Tradition reads this as teaching that people can choose to master their bad urges. In the primary lessons: In stories a character's desire drives what they do: a desire for treasure, home or friendship. In formal writing and exam questions "the desired result" means the one you want. Phrases: a desire to, a desire for, the desired effect, leave a lot to be desired, burning desire.
examples
- and seest among the captives a woman of goodly form, and thou hast a desire unto her, and wouldest take her to thee to wife; (Torah DEU.21.11, JPS 1917) tree →
- Not so; go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that is what ye desire.' And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. (Torah EXO.10.11, JPS 1917) tree →
- If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee is its desire, but thou mayest rule over it.' (Torah GEN.4.7, JPS 1917) tree →
- And beside Thee I desire none upon earth. (Writings PSA.73.25, JPS 1917) tree →
- And on whom is all the desire of Israel? (Prophets 1SA.9.20, JPS 1917) tree →
- I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. (Writings SNG.7.11, JPS 1917) tree →
- She had a strong desire to become a vet. tree →
- The hero's only desire was to get home. tree →
- Add salt until you get the desired taste. tree →
- He had no desire to go out in the rain. tree →
- The king desired a golden crown. tree →
- The food at the camp left a lot to be desired. tree →
- Round your answer to the desired number of decimal places. tree →
- “Because young people have strong desires. tree →
note
Countable noun. "Desire to + verb" (desire to win), "desire for + noun" (desire for peace). Adjective: desirable (worth having). The verb sounds formal or old-fashioned; in everyday talk say "want". In maths questions "the desired amount" is the target number you must reach.
In the corpora
- And on whom is all the desire of Israel?
- Then said Jonathan unto David: 'What doth thy soul desire, that I should do it for thee?'
- So Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of cypress according to all his desire.
- And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
- Then she said: 'Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say: Do not deceive me?'
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «desire» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.