Wanted is a past participle/adjective meaning 'desirable or sought after' and, in modern usage, also used as a noun or verb form within phrases like 'wanted poster' or 'wanted to.' It denotes something that is currently in demand or actively sought; in everyday speech it often functions as a description of a thing or person that is desired or needed. The pronunciation also signals stress on the first syllable in many contexts.
"The job posting attracted a lot of wanted applicants."
"A wanted poster hung on the wall near the station."
"She had the wanted quality that every team was looking for."
"The cat, once tame, became the most wanted companion in the neighborhood."
Wanted comes from the verb want. The etymology traces to Old English wandian (to be lacking, be in need), from Proto Germanic wain- (to lack). The modern sense of desirability grew in Middle English as ‘that which is desired’ and later evolved into the compound adjective and noun forms we use today. The lexical shift from “to lack” to “to be desired or sought after” reflects a semantic broadening common in English: items and people can be ‘wanted’ not only because they are needed but because they are valued, coveted, or pursued. First known uses appear in Middle English texts, with the sense increasingly tied to desirability or demand across the 14th–16th centuries. In contemporary usage, ‘wanted’ typically modifies nouns (wanted object, wanted person) or stands alone in phrases like ‘the wanted list’ or ‘the wanted poster,’ while the verb form remains common in past tense constructions (they wanted to go).
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Wanted" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Wanted" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Wanted"
-ted sounds
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Pronounce it as two syllables: /ˈwɒn.tɪd/ in US/UK; Australian follows the same pattern. The stress is on the first syllable: WONT-ɪd. The /ɒ/ is a short, open back vowel like 'lot' in many dialects; the second syllable uses a short /ɪ/ as in 'bit', and the final /d/ is a light, voiced alveolar stop. In rapid speech you may hear it reduced to /ˈwɒn.tɪd/ with less emphasis on the second vowel. Listen for the clear /t/ boundary between syllables.
Common errors include conflating /ɒ/ with /ɑː/ in non-rhotic accents, and either dropping the second syllable vowel or turning /tɪd/ into /ɪd/ with a weak final consonant. Another mistake is misplacing the stress, saying ‘wan-TED’ instead of ‘WONT-ɪd.’ Correct by enforcing the strong first-syllable stress, keeping /ɒ/ distinct from /ɑː/ and preserving the clear /t/ onset of the second syllable.
In US/UK English, you maintain two syllables with primary stress on the first: /ˈwɒn.tɪd/. US rhotics influence surrounding vowels slightly; non-rhotic UK speakers may drop post-consonantal r sounds (not relevant here). Australian English mirrors US/UK in the two-syllable pattern but can exhibit a slightly longer /ɒ/ and a crisper /t/ release. Pay attention to T-voicing and flapping in some US dialects when connected in rapid speech, which can subtly alter the perceived duration of the middle vowel.
Because it blends a tense front vowel with a mid-back vowel in rapid speech, and the second syllable /tɪd/ can compress or devoice in fast contexts. Learners often substitute /ɒ/ with /ɑː/ or reduce /tɪd/ to /d/ or /ɪd/. The key difficulty is keeping both syllables distinct while preserving the voiced /d/ at the end, and not turning /ən/ into a smoother nasal blend. Practice with minimal pairs to stabilize each sound.
In standard careful speech, the /t/ is released as a clear voiceless stop, not flapped. In fast American speech, you may hear a tap or very light flapping, especially when the word is not phrase-initial. To ensure clarity, consciously release the /t/ with a brief puff of air and avoid a rapid, soft alveolar tap when it’s important to preserve word boundaries—then you’ll distinguish /t/ from /d/ in connected speech.
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