What does desiderating mean?
Desiderating is a formal, literary word for wanting or wishing something that is absent, unavailable, or long awaited. It usually appears in a participial construction, as in “leaving readers desiderating more evidence,” and it often conveys patient, sometimes poignant yearning rather than a sudden or practical need. The related phrase “long desiderated” conveys a similar sense, though it is formed from desiderate rather than the participle desiderating. Because the word is uncommon in ordinary conversation, it can sound elevated, old-fashioned, or deliberately emphatic, especially in literary criticism and historical prose. Nevertheless, it is useful when precision matters: it names an active, sustained wish for something not yet obtained. Its Latin ancestry also connects it to a family of familiar words, including desideration and desideratum, while preserving a sense of longing that English otherwise often leaves implicit.
adjectiveDesiderating means wanting or wishing for something, especially something absent, unavailable, or long awaited. It is chiefly a literary or archaic participial adjective.
- Having or expressing a strong wish for something absent, unavailable, or long awaited.
"After years abroad, she was left desiderating the familiar streets of her childhood."
"After years abroad, she was left desiderating the familiar streets of her childhood."
"The report leaves readers desiderating more evidence."
Desiderating descends from Latin desiderium, the same root that gave English desideration and desideratum.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
Related word forms
How desiderating is actually used
Literary, formal, and somewhat archaic. It occurs especially in participial constructions such as “leaving someone desiderating an answer,” and its object is typically wanted but still unobtained.