Want vs. Will — What's the Difference?

To feel a need or desire for; wish for.

Expressing future tense; indicating likelihood or certainty.

To wish, need, crave, demand, or desire.

To express determination, promise, or intention.

To be without or be deficient in.

The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action.

To require or need (something).

Used to express capability or sufficiency.

To fall short by (a specified amount).

To desire, wish, or invoke something.

The idea of want can be examined from many perspectives. In secular societies want might be considered similar to the emotion desire, which can be studied scientifically through the disciplines of psychology or sociology.

The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action

Have a desire to possess or do (something); wish for

Diligent purposefulness; determination

Should or need to do something

Self-control; self-discipline

Lack something desirable or essential

A desire, purpose, or determination, especially of one in authority

A lack or deficiency of something

Deliberate intention or wish

A desire for something

Free discretion; inclination or pleasure

To have a strong feeling to have (something); wish (to possess or do something); desire greatly

Bearing or attitude toward others; disposition

To desire (someone to do something)

A legally executed document containing this declaration.

To request the presence or assistance of

To decide on or intend

To seek with intent to capture

To yearn for; desire

To have an inclination toward; like

To decree, dictate, or order

(Informal) To be obliged (to do something)

To induce or try to induce by sheer force of will

To be in need of; require

To grant in a legal will; bequeath

To be without; lack.

To order to direct in a legal will

To be inclined or desirous; wish

To exercise the will.

The condition or quality of lacking something usual or necessary

To make a choice; choose

Pressing need; destitution

To wish; desire

Something desired

(auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall.

A defect of character; a fault.

(auxiliary) To be able to, to have the capacity to.

(transitive) To wish for or desire (something); to feel a need or desire for; to crave or demand.

(auxiliary) Expressing a present tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference".

(by extension) To make it easy or tempting to do something undesirable, or to make it hard or challenging to refrain from doing it.

(auxiliary) To habitually do (a given action).

To wish, desire, or demand to see, have the presence of or do business with.

(auxiliary) To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive), often in questions and negation.

(intransitive) To desire (to experience desire); to wish.

To wish, desire (something).

To lack and be in need of or require (something, such as a noun or verbal noun).

To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).

To have occasion for (something requisite or useful); to require or need.

(archaic) Implying will go.

To be lacking or deficient or absent.

To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.

To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack.

(transitive) To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).

To lack and be without, to not have (something).

(transitive) To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something.

To lack and (be able to) do without.

One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.

(countable) A desire, wish, longing.

The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.

Lack, absence, deficiency.

One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.

(uncountable) Poverty.

Firmity of purpose, fixity of intent

Something needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt.

(archaic) That which is desired; one's wish.

A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place.

(archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)

(dialectal) A mole (Talpa europea).

The power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty or power of the mind by which we decide to do or not to do; the power or faculty of preferring or selecting one of two or more objects.

The state of not having; the condition of being without anything; absence or scarcity of what is needed or desired; deficiency; lack; as, a want of power or knowledge for any purpose; want of food and clothing.

The choice which is made; a determination or preference which results from the act or exercise of the power of choice; a volition.

Specifically, absence or lack of necessaries; destitution; poverty; penury; indigence; need.

The choice or determination of one who has authority; a decree; a command; discretionary pleasure.

That which is needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt; what is not possessed, and is necessary for use or pleasure.

Strong wish or inclination; desire; purpose.

A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place.

That which is strongly wished or desired.

To be without; to be destitute of, or deficient in; not to have; to lack; as, to want knowledge; to want judgment; to want learning; to want food and clothing.

Arbitrary disposal; power to control, dispose, or determine.

To have occasion for, as useful, proper, or requisite; to require; to need; as, in winter we want a fire; in summer we want cooling breezes.

To wish; to desire; to incline to have.

To feel need of; to wish or long for; to desire; to crave.

As an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent on the verb. Thus, in first person, "I will" denotes willingness, consent, promise; and when "will" is emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as, I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition, wish, or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is appropriately expressed; as, "You will go," or "He will go," describes a future event as a fact only. To emphasize will denotes (according to the tone or context) certain futurity or fixed determination.

To be absent; to be deficient or lacking; to fail; not to be sufficient; to fall or come short; to lack; - often used impersonally with of; as, it wants ten minutes of four.

To be willing; to be inclined or disposed; to be pleased; to wish; to desire.

A state of extreme poverty

To form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of choice; to ordain; to decree.

The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable;

To enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an act of volition; to direct; to order.

Anything that is necessary but lacking;

To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child; also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that his nephew should have his watch.

A specific feeling of desire;

To exercise an act of volition; to choose; to decide; to determine; to decree.

Feel or have a desire for; want strongly;

The capability of conscious choice and decision and intention;

Have need of;

A fixed and persistent intent or purpose;

Wish or demand the presence of;

A legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die

Hunt or look for; want for a particular reason;

Decree or ordain;

Be without, lack; be deficient in;

Have in mind;

Determine by choice;

Want can motivate behavior by creating a desire or need that one seeks to fulfill.

Yes, a person can want something and use their will to achieve it, combining desire with determination.

Want is a desire or wish for something, while will is the determination or intention to act.

Primarily, yes, as a modal verb, it indicates future actions or likelihoods, but as a noun, it refers to one's determination or resolve.

In decision-making, want can influence what one desires, while will determines the commitment to act on those desires.

Technically, yes. One can have the determination (will) to do something out of necessity or responsibility, without necessarily wanting to do it.

While will involves conscious choice or decision, subconscious factors can also influence one's will.

Will plays a crucial role in goal achievement by providing the determination and intention necessary to take action and overcome obstacles.

Yes, wants can change based on personal growth, experiences, and changes in circumstances.

Yes, will can be strengthened through practices like setting clear goals, self-discipline, and developing coping strategies for obstacles.

Yes, willpower is a form of will, referring to the inner strength and discipline used to overcome temptations and act in alignment with one's goals.

Yes, to want something often implies a lack or deficiency of that thing.

Balancing wants and will involves aligning one's desires with actions and decisions that reflect one's true priorities and values.

Capacity for will can vary based on personality, upbringing, and experiences, though it can be strengthened over time with practice and discipline.

Culture and society shape wants by influencing desires and norms, and they can either support or challenge an individual's will through societal expectations and pressures.