wanted 1 of 2

adjective

as in liked

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wanted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of want
1
as in craved
to have an earnest wish to own or enjoy I want a new car so badly!

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in needed
to have as a requirement that stray cat wants food and a clean place to sleep

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in wished
to see fit do what you want

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in enjoyed
to wish to have I want some ice cream for dessert, please

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wanted
Adjective
Police in Medellin, Colombia, arrested Hernandez in July 2025 after learning Interpol issued a Red Notice, an international alert notifying law enforcement to hold a wanted fugitive. — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 Owning a stake in a profitable, growing business that provides a wanted product or service over the long term is preferable to owning paper currency, which is destined to lose purchasing power over time. — Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, Providence Journal reporters took readers inside a 20-year-hunt for one of the state’s most wanted fugitives – finally arrested at sea. — Greg Borowski, jsonline.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Front and rear parking sensors are the second-most wanted feature that new car buyers are looking for in 2026. — Charles Singh, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2026 Strong, once the most infamous and most wanted person in the country, had faded into obscurity. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2026 Mindich, an old friend of Zelensky’s, is now a wanted fugitive in Ukraine, hiding out in Israel to escape arrest on charges of large-scale corruption. — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026 Satinderjeet Singh remains a fugitive and has ties to Sacramento, Fresno, Canada, India and Mexico, according to a wanted flier distributed by the FBI. — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026 Guerrero, 42, had been one of the most wanted criminal figures in the hemisphere. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 15 June 2026
Verb
If Congress wanted the president to retain Section 338 power, Albrecht asks, why did lawmakers pass the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allowed for national security tariffs? — Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026 The one person who never wanted to be seen with Dolly in public, astonishingly, was her husband of 59 years and childhood sweetheart, Carl Dean. — Tania Bryer, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026 Despite the traditional ceremony, Ramya wanted her silhouette to still feel unexpected. — Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2026 Police said the man was wanted on a no-bail warrant for a probation violation. — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026 Anthropic wanted assurances that its Claude AI models wouldn’t be used for mass surveillance of US citizens or for fully autonomous weapons without human oversight. — James Peckham, PC Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026 Patel, 27, said her dad, Umesh Kumar, 56, had wanted to make the trip for many years and traveled through India to Nepal, where he was joined by her sister, Akanksha, 32, and her sister’s husband, Ishan, 32. — ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026 Twenty-four hours after moving to London from New Zealand, Lavanda wanted to go out for a cocktail but felt strange going alone. — Amen Galinato, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026 Vitello wanted Smith to face the right-handed hitting Caleb Durbin before going to lefty Sam Hentges, but the move didn’t pan out as Smith walked Durbin on four pitches. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 23 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wanted
  1. preferred
  2. craved
  3. needed
  4. wished
  5. liked
  6. desirable
  7. desired
  8. required
Adjective
  • The clearest sign of the change came in 2024, when a study recorded Americans choosing cannabis over alcohol for daily consumption, marking the first time in history that cannabis has overtaken alcohol as the preferred daily substance.
    — Dario Sabaghi, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • This week, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, along with the final US first-quarter GDP reading, will also be released.
    — , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of preferred
Verb
  • But the burden of trying to achieve something everyone craved unintentionally, but perceptibly, skewed their priorities.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Budget-conscious buyers still craved a true, sub-US$30,000 subcompact.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of craved
Verb
  • Libra September 23 – October 22 Quiet may be just what is needed for a creative idea to flourish.
    — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The retrofit is needed primarily because many of the 499 piles that hold up the piers have micro-cracks.
    — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of needed
Verb
  • In 2024, Aniston and Cox wished Kudrow a happy 61st birthday.
    — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Tom Brady wished his lookalike son Jack a happy 19th birthday in an emotional Instagram post.
    — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of wished
Verb
  • Carl never much liked recording sessions but did offer input.
    — Martha Ackmann, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • There may not be a player in the league who is this good, this young and this universally liked.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of liked
Adjective
  • As high-quality synthetic re-creations become cheap and accessible, cloning has become a more desirable option for studios struggling with runaway production costs.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Summary Personality traits often blur between desirable and undesirable, with positive qualities becoming negative in extreme.
    — Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of desirable
Verb
  • Kaepernick desired no news conference, no PR guru to prepare a statement, no assistant to pre-write a social media post.
    — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Yet, the artist’s latest tracks still leave a lot to be desired.
    — Sydney Gaw, Oc Register, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of desired
Verb
  • Leaders can distinguish between capabilities required on day one and knowledge that a capable person can reasonably acquire.
    — Sheila Callaham, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • With all 32 teams required to trim their rosters to 53 players by Sunday, Lynn made a strong case for a spot on the Jets’ active roster.
    — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of required

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Cite this Entry

“Wanted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wanted. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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