Desire
nounA strong feeling of wanting something or wishing for it to happen.
How to spell desire
6 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce desire
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does desire mean?
- nounA strong feeling of wanting something or wishing for it to happen.
- verbTo want or wish for something strongly.
Desire in a sentence
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noun
Her desire to travel grew stronger after the lockdown ended.
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verb
The residents desire a quieter road outside their homes.
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noun
The company built the product around customer desire for simplicity.
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verb
Most clients desire a quick resolution to the dispute.
Where does desire come from?
Language of origin: Latin
Desire travels into English from the Latin verb desiderare, which meant 'to long for' or 'to wish for'. That verb is built on the noun sidus, meaning 'star' or 'heavenly body', and a popular explanation is that the original sense carried the flavour of 'awaiting what the stars will bring' or gazing longingly at the heavens. English picked the word up through Old French desirer in the 1200s, both as a verb meaning 'to crave' and as a noun for the craving itself. Its close relative 'consider' shares the very same sidus root, since to consider once meant to study the stars carefully. The spelling trap is the single 's' pronounced like a 'z' and the unstressed first syllable, which tempts writers toward an extra letter or a swapped vowel.
How the word is built
- de- (down, from)
- sire (from Latin sidus: star, heavenly body)
- -e
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