wanted

W4A1N1T1E1D2
UK/ˈwɒn.tɪd/US/ˈwɑn.tɪd/US/ˈwɑ.nɪd/

adjective

Wished for; desired; sought.

“Wanted: babysitter”

Similar
craveddesiredhotlonged-forwished-foryearned-forsoughtsought-after
Opposite
unwanted
OriginEnglish want ← Middle English wanten ← Old Norse vanta →
Very commonScrabble 10
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Meanings

adjectivewanted (comparative more wanted, superlative most wanted)

comparative more wanted · superlative most wanted

  1. Wished for; desired; sought.

    Wanted: babysitter

    1 more example

    She was the most wanted speaker at the conference.

  2. governmentSubject to immediate detainment by law enforcement authorities on sight.

    America’s most wanted

    1 more example

    The police arrested a wanted criminal.

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of want

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
unwanted

adjectivedesired or wished for or sought

Similar
craveddesiredhotlonged-forwished-foryearned-forsoughtsought-after
Opposite
unwanted

adjectivecharacterized by feeling or showing fond affection for

Similar
cherishedprecioustreasuredloved
Also see
cherisheddesiredhotlonged-forprecioussought-aftertreasured

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*wanatōną
  2. Old Norsevanta
  3. Middle Englishwanten
  4. Englishwant
  5. Englishwanted

From want + -ed.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian желан, нужен
  • желан (želan)desired
  • нужен (nužen)desired
  • търсен (tărsen)subject to immediate detainment
Catalan buscat
  • buscatsubject to immediate detainment
Chinese Mandarin 通緝 /通缉
  • 通緝 /通缉 (tōngjī)subject to immediate detainment
Esperanto reserĉata
  • reserĉatasubject to immediate detainment
Finnish etsitty, haluttu
  • etsittydesired
  • haluttudesired
  • toivottudesired
  • etsintäkuulutettusubject to immediate detainment
French recherché
  • recherchésubject to immediate detainment
German ersehnt, gewünscht
  • ersehntdesired
  • gewünschtdesired
  • erwünschtdesired
Hindi वांछित, वांछित
  • वांछित (vāñchit)desired
  • वांछित (vāñchit)subject to immediate detainment
Hungarian akart, kívánt
  • akartdesired
  • kívántdesired
  • vágyottdesired
  • körözöttsubject to immediate detainment
  • körözés alatt állósubject to immediate detainment
Icelandic eftirlýstur
  • eftirlýstursubject to immediate detainment
Japanese 指名手配中
  • 指名手配中 (shimei tehai chū)subject to immediate detainment
Malay dikehendaki
  • dikehendakisubject to immediate detainment
Polish pożądany, chciany
  • pożądanydesired
  • chcianydesired
  • poszukiwanysubject to immediate detainment
Portuguese procurado
  • procuradosubject to immediate detainment
Russian жела́емый, тре́буемый
  • жела́емый (želájemyj)desired
  • тре́буемый (trébujemyj)desired
  • жела́нный (želánnyj)desired
  • ну́жный (núžnyj)desired
  • разы́скиваемый (razýskivajemyj)subject to immediate detainment
Spanish deseado, buscado
  • deseadodesired
  • buscadosubject to immediate detainment
Swedish efterlyst, eftersökt
  • efterlystdesired
  • eftersöktdesired
  • efterlystsubject to immediate detainment
Cite this entry
APA

wanted. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wanted

MLA

“wanted.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wanted. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wanted,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wanted.

Source: wanted on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.