Meaning & use
wanted
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Meanings
adjectiveafter a verb
Being looked for by the police because they think the person committed a crime.
Grammar: Often follows be: he is wanted for robbery.
Patterns
- wanted for something
- wanted by someone
He is wanted for questioning in two states.
The police said the man was wanted by several countries.
A wanted poster hung in the office window.
adjectivecomparable
Desired or sought by someone, or needed.
Grammar: Often used with feel: to feel wanted is to feel valued.
Patterns
- feel wanted
- be wanted by someone
The new teacher made every child feel wanted.
She was a wanted guest at every party.
The shop sells every wanted tool.
Word forms
| comparative | more wanted |
|---|---|
| superlative | most wanted |
Common combinations
- wanted for
- He is wanted for fraud.
- most wanted
- She topped the most wanted list.
- feel wanted
- Children need to feel wanted.
- wanted poster
- A wanted poster showed his face.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sought
- More formal and used in both meanings.
- desired
- Only the sense of being wished for.
- fugitive
- Noun for the person who is wanted by the law.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: wanted or waned?
wanted vs waned
Waned means became weaker; wanted means desired or sought.
Practice
The suspect is ___ in connection with the robbery, and police have asked the public for help.
Choose one answer.
Wanted is the term for someone sought by the police. Needed or missed would not carry that legal meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wanted”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.