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# desire

«desire» in Mova's school dictionary: **a strong wish or longing for something** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#m1)

2) verb (formal): To desire something means to want it very much. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#m2)

3) "Leaves a lot to be desired" means it is not very good. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#m3)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#x1)
- The hero's only desire was to get home. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#x2)
- Add salt until you get the desired taste. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#x3)
- He had no desire to go out in the rain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#x4)
- The king desired a golden crown. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#x5)
- The food at the camp left a lot to be desired. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#x6)
- Round your answer to the desired number of decimal places. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#x7)
- “Because young people have strong desires. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/#x8)

### 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?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/1SA.219/)
- [Then said Jonathan unto David: 'What doth thy soul desire, that I should do it for thee?'](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/1SA.579/)
- [So Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of cypress according to all his desire.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/1KI.180/)
- [And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/1KI.445/)
- [Then she said: 'Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say: Do not deceive me?'](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/2KI.109/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «desire» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/desire/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.