Definition

Adjective 1. Lacking or deficient in something necessary or desirable: Describes a state of being without something that is needed, or not having enough of a particular quality. 2. Not present or available; absent: Describes something that is missing from a place or situation where it is expected. 3. Not meeting a required standard; inadequate: Describes something that fails to reach an expected or necessary level of quality or quantity.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective (Deficient):
  • The team's performance was wanting in several key areas.
  • He is a brilliant scientist but wanting in social skills.
• Adjective (Absent):
  • Two pages from the manuscript are wanting.
  • The necessary permits were still wanting, so construction could not begin.
• Adjective (Inadequate):
  • The evidence presented by the prosecution was found wanting.
  • Her explanation for the delay was wanting.

Advanced Usage

• "To be found wanting": This is a common formal or literary phrase meaning to be judged as inadequate or insufficient after being tested or examined.
  • When faced with a real crisis, their leadership was found wanting.
• "Wanting in": A formal construction used to specify the particular quality that is lacking.
  • The proposal, while innovative, is wanting in practical details.

Variants and Related Words

• Want (verb): To feel a need or desire for something; to lack something.
  • He wants courage. (He lacks courage.)
• Wanted (adjective): Desired or sought after, especially by the authorities.
  • He is a wanted criminal. (This is a distinct meaning from 'wanting'.)

Synonyms

• Lacking: Not having or not having enough of something.
• Deficient: Not having enough of a specified quality or ingredient.
• Inadequate: Not sufficient or acceptable in quality.
• Absent: Not present in a place or situation.

Antonyms

• Adequate: Satisfactory or acceptable in quality or quantity.
• Sufficient: Enough; adequate.
• Present: Existing or occurring in a place or thing.
• Abundant: Existing or available in large quantities; plentiful.

Related Phrases

• "For want of": Because of a lack of something.
  • The project failed for want of funding.
• "Leave much to be desired": An idiom with a similar meaning to "be found wanting," indicating that something is unsatisfactory.
  • The hotel's cleanliness left much to be desired.

Adjective

1. inadequate in amount or degree
   • a deficient education
   • deficient in common sense
   • lacking in stamina
   • tested and found wanting
2. nonexistent
   • the thumb is absent
   • her appetite was lacking