adjective

wanting

lacking, deficient, inadequate

His performance was found wanting.

His performance was found wanting.

They were not wanting in courage.

They were not wanting in courage.

to be found wanting to be deficient or inadequate His performance was found wanting.

not wanting in ((sth.)) having enough of a good quality They were not wanting in courage.

Synonyms: lacking, deficient, inadequate; Antonyms: sufficient, adequate

Present participle of 'want', used as an adjective. It retains the original sense of 'lacking' from Old Norse 'vanta'.

If something is 'wanting', it makes you 'want' more or something better because it's not good enough.

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