desires
What hearts crave
Desires are strong wishes or longings for something.
The word carries more intensity than wants—desires suggest deeper yearning, often with emotional or physical dimensions: Her desires conflicted with her obligations.
Sexual desires refer specifically to physical attraction and arousal.
To desire something is to want it keenly: He desired nothing more than peace.
A desired outcome is one hoped for.
Desire for food
- hungerNeed for nourishment
- thirstNeed for fluid
- urgeStrong inner drive
- compulsionIrresistible urge to act
addiction · fixation · obsession · gluttony · greed · coveting · dependency · temptation
Intense emotional warmth
- fervorIntense emotional intensity
- intensityStrength or force level
- zealIntense driving devotion
- fireCombustion with flames
flame · heat · burning · infatuation · romance · lust · eros · devotion
Intense, persistent desire
- piningAching with prolonged desire
- achePersistent dull discomfort
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
melancholy · hope · dreaming · sentimentality · homesickness · bittersweet · reminiscence · hiraeth
Strong desire for achievement
- goalDesired end result
- achievementAccomplished goal or deed
- successFavorable outcome attained
- strivingEarnest sustained endeavor
advancement · pursuit · dream · determination · aim · climb · endeavor · excellence
Yearned-for outcome
- preferenceFavored choice among alternatives
- inclinationDisposition toward something
- choiceAct of selecting
- fancyElaborate or decorative
whim · predilection · volition · intention · demand · need · requirement · request
appetite
Desire for food
compulsion · addiction · fixation · obsession · gluttony · greed · coveting · dependency · temptation · indulgence
ardor
Intense emotional warmth
fire · flame · heat · burning · infatuation · romance · lust · eros · devotion · ecstasy
longing
Intense, persistent desire
- piningAching with prolonged desire
- achePersistent dull discomfort
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
nostalgia · melancholy · hope · dreaming · sentimentality · homesickness · bittersweet · reminiscence · hiraeth · restlessness
aspiration
Strong desire for achievement
- goalDesired end result
- achievementAccomplished goal or deed
- successFavorable outcome attained
striving · advancement · pursuit · dream · determination · aim · climb · endeavor · excellence · progress
wish
Yearned-for outcome
- preferenceFavored choice among alternatives
- inclinationDisposition toward something
- choiceAct of selecting
fancy · whim · predilection · volition · intention · demand · need · requirement · request · expectation
- aspirationsdream, goals, dreams, purpose, mission
- human naturehuman nature, emotions, instincts, human condition, personhood
- inner lifeidentity, feelings, memory, thoughts, self-discovery
- intentionsgoals, aims, I will, purposes, I want
- longing verbscraves, yearns, pines, aches, wishes
- hidden thingssecrets, motives, agendas, subtext, undercurrents
desiresaversions
Strong feelings against
loathes · abhors · detests · dislikes · repulsions
desiresapathies
Lacks of concern
indifference · apathy · disinterest · unconcern · detachment
desiressatisfactions
States of fulfilled desire
fulfillments · contentments · satiation · has · possesses
- unconscious desiresWants below awareness
- burning desireIntense emotional craving
- heart's desireOne's truest want
- left much to be desiredWas unsatisfactory or lacking
- leaves much to be desiredInadequate, needing improvement
- sexual desireCraving for physical intimacy
desire, desired, desirable, undesirable, desiring, desirous, undesired, desirability, desirably