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
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
- 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.