Desire, n.
Etymology: [F. désir, fr. désirer. See Desire, v. t.]
1. The natural longing that is excited by the enjoyment or the thought of any good, and impels to action or effort its continuance or possession; an eager wish to obtain or enjoy. Unspeakable desire to see and know. Milton.
2. An expressed wish; a request; petition. And slowly was my mother brought To yield consent to my desire. Tennyson.
3. Anything which is desired; an object of longing. The Desire of all nations shall come. Hag. ii. 7.
4. Excessive or morbid longing; lust; appetite.
2 more senses
5. Grief; regret. [Obs.] Chapman.
Syn. -- Wish; appetency; craving; inclination; eagerness; aspiration; longing.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Desire, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desired; p. pr. & vb. n. Desiring.]
1. To long for; to wish for earnestly; to covet. Neither shall any man desire thy land. Ex. xxxiv. 24. Ye desire your child to live. Tennyson.
2. To express a wish for; to entreat; to request. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord 2 Kings iv. 28. Desire him to go in; trouble him no more. Shak.
3. To require; to demand; to claim. [Obs.] A doleful case desires a doleful song. Spenser.
4. To miss; to regret. [Obs.] She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies. Jer. Taylor.
Syn. -- To long for; hanker after; covet; wish; ask; request; solicit; entreat; beg. -- To Desire, Wish. In desire the feeling is usually more eager than in wish. "I wish you to do this" is a milder form of command than "I desire you to do this," though the feeling prompting the injunction may be the usage C. J. Smith.
Shades of meaning
Inclination is the mildest of these terms; it is a quiet, or even a vague or unconscious, tendency. Even when we speak of a strong or decided inclination we do not express the intensity of desire. Desire has a wide range, from the highest objects to the lowest; desire is for an object near at hand, or near in thought, and viewed as attainable; a wish may be for what is remote or uncertain, or even for what is recognized as impossible. Craving is stronger than hankering; hankering may be the result of a fitful and capricious appetite; craving may be the imperious and reasonable demand of the whole nature. Longing is a reaching out with deep and persistent demand for that which is viewed as now distant but at some time attainable; as, the captive's longing for release. Coveting ordinarily denotes wrong desire for that which is another's. Compare appetite.
Prepositions
The desire of fame; a desire for excellence.