What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Desire vs Preferred - What's the difference?

desire | preferred |

As verbs the difference between desire and preferred

is that desire is to want; to wish for earnestly while preferred is past tense of prefer.

As nouns the difference between desire and preferred

is that desire is someone or something wished for while preferred is preferred stock.

As an adjective preferred is

favoured.

desire

English

Verb

(desir)
  • To want; to wish for earnestly.
  • * Bible, Exodus xxxiv. 24
    • Neither shall any man desire thy land.
  • * Tennyson
    • Ye desire your child to live.
  • To put a request to (someone); to entreat.
  • * 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Acts XIII:
    • And when they founde no cause of deeth in hym, yet desired they Pilate to kyll him.
  • *
    • , title=The Mirror and the Lamp , chapter=2 citation , passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired .}}
  • To want emotionally or sexually.
  • To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.
  • * Bible, 2 Kings iv. 28
    • Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord?
  • * Shakespeare
    • Desire him to go in; trouble him no more.
  • To require; to demand; to claim.
  • * Spenser
    • A doleful case desires a doleful song.
  • To miss; to regret.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
    • She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies.

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • (countable) Someone or something wished for.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
    • , volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Fantasy of navigation , passage=It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].}}
  • (uncountable) Strong attraction, particularly romantic or sexual.
  • (uncountable) Motivation.
  • (uncountable) The feeling of desire.

    • Synonyms

    * (one or thing wished for) wanna, want-to * (motivation) wanna, want-to

    See also

    * velleity

    Related terms

    * desirable * desirous

    Statistics

    *

    External links

    * *

    Anagrams

    * * English control verbs

    preferred

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (archaic)

    Verb

    (head)
  • (prefer)

    • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • favoured

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • (finance) Preferred stock.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2008, date=March 30, author=Gretchen Morgenson, title=If You Can’t Sell, Good Luck, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=Naturally, closed-end funds’ common shareholders love the juice that auction-rate preferreds provide.}}