Word.ws English Dictionary

desired

Syllables: de·siredUK/dɪˈzaɪəd//dɪˈzaɪɹd/

desired is the simple past and past participle of desire.

Meaning of desire

Verb

desire (third-person singular simple present desires, present participle desiring, simple past and past participle desired)

  1. To want; to wish for earnestly.
    • I desire to speak with you.
  2. To put a request to (someone); to entreat.
    • And when they founde no cause of deeth in hym, yet desired they Pilate to kyll him.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts
  3. To want emotionally or sexually.
    • She has desired him since they first met.
  4. To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.
    • Then shee said, Did I desire a sonne of my Lord ? did I not say, Doe not deceiue me?1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Kings 4:28
  5. To require; to demand; to claim.
    • A doleful case desires a doleful song.c. 1580, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses
  6. To miss; to regret.
    • She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies.1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC

See all 10 meanings of desire

Adjective

desired (comparative more desired, superlative most desired)

  1. wished-for, longed-for
    • This is a highly desired holiday home.
    • Her surprise gift of chocolates didn't have the desired effects

Forms of desired

comparativemore desired
superlativemost desired

Words formed from desired

Phrases with desired

2 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with desired

20 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about desired

What does desired mean?
Desired means wished-for, longed-for.
What is desired the simple past and past participle of?
Desired is the simple past and past participle of desire.
What part of speech is desired?
Desired is an adjective.
How do you pronounce desired?
Desired is pronounced /dɪˈzaɪəd/ (UK).

Words near desired in the dictionary

  1. desire lines
  2. desire path
  3. desire paths
  4. desireable
  5. desireableness
  6. desired
  7. desired effect
  8. desired effects
  9. desired face
  10. desiredly
  11. desiredness

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: desired (page history and authors); desire (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-desired.ogg.

Cite this entry: “desired.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/desired. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.