wantedadj.n.
/ˈwɒntᵻd/, U.S. /ˈwɑn(t)əd/ A. adj.
1. Lacking, missing; needed; sought after. In later use also: wished for, desired. N.E.D. (1923) interpreted quot. 1821 as illustrating a regional sense ‘dispensed with’; however, further evidence for such a sense has not been found.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adjective] > deficient or wanting
wanec825
thurfec1175
lacking1480
indigent1531
defect1543
awanting1583
missed1584
wanting1592
defective1603
wanted1619
half-baked1627
deficient1632
manqué1773
the mind > possession > relinquishing > casting or laying aside > [adjective] > dispensed with
wanted1821
1619 J. Higgins Falles Vnfortunate Princes 480 They rusht on sudden out to feeld, As bent to die or win the wanted food with praise.
1672 J. Owen Disc. Evangelical Love ii. 26 Now Love, in the first notion of it, is the willing of a wanted Good unto the Object of it.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis ix, in tr. Virgil Wks. 474 Make me but happy in his safe Return, Whose wanted Presence I can only mourn.
1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xiii. 338 Enter, and receive The wanted Weapons.
1776 S. Estwick Let. to J. Tucker 110 The wanted means of executing the adopted plan of American taxation.
1803 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) I. 167 They will not pay him for executing a wanted work.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 84 The door may open with a string, So that it closes tight; And locks would be a wanted thing, To keep out thieves at night.
1871 M. E. Dewey in Life & Lett. C. M. Sedgwick 72 He..played an excellent hand at whist.., but he never could be slidden in to make up a wanted party to a game.
1957 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 904/2 The basic function of the marker is to make a preliminary test of several alternative paths to a wanted destination through an array of switches.
1984 G. Vanderhaeghe My Present Age (1986) xi. 162 What's the cliché? Every child a wanted child?
1991 What Hi-Fi? Oct. 215/1 Signal to Noise Ratio. The difference, in dB, between the wanted signal and unwanted noise.
2. Of a person: sought by the police or a similar agency in connection with a crime. Frequently in wanted man. Cf. most wanted adj. and n. (a) at most adj., pron., n., and adv. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [adjective] > that is or has been sought > sought by police, etc.
wanted1876
most wanted1949
1876 E. O. B. Heffernan Let. 12 Sept. in A. H.-G. Stanmore Lett. & Notes Disturbances Highlands (1879) II. 315 Allowing the wanted men to remain for six weeks where they are, until Captain Knollys's arrival, will not be good for either Beimana or Koroinasau.
1879 M. C. Houstoun Twenty Years in Wild West xiii. 116 Tom, the ‘wanted’ man, was..found guilty of murder.
1912 Sphere 28 Dec. 338/3 A periodical called The Detective, in which portraits of wanted persons are given.
1977 R. Rendell Judgement in Stone (1979) xxiii. 166 Identikit pictures of the two wanted men appeared in every national newspaper on Wednesday.
1985 T. Parker Soldier, Soldier xii. 166 Her husband is a wanted man.
2002 Borneo Post 18 Nov. 5/1 This man was..a key..gang member and a wanted criminal.
B. n.
1. Chiefly in plural. Something sought by a person, esp. as specified in an advertisement; (hence) a classified advertisement specifying that a particular person or thing is sought; a small ad.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > the object of seeking > persons or things sought
wanted1786
most wanted1949
1786 C. Johnstone Adventures Anthony Varnish III. xxxviii. 160 The poet advised me to look into the daily papers, where I should be certain of reading, among the list of the wanteds, something that would answer my purpose.
1793 J. Beresford in W. Roberts Looker-on No. 51. 404 I design to publish a list of Wanteds, wholly for the use of your Paper.
1861 Bendigo (Victoria) Advertiser 10 Sept. We follow the example of the M. A. Mail in giving publicity to the following ‘Wanteds’ from the Hobarton Gazette.
1895 Trans. Stirling Nat. Hist. & Archæol. Soc. 1894–5 97 Both of these birds are in our list of ‘wanteds’, but neither of the specimens mentioned have found their way to the local collection.
1903 W. D. Howells Lett. Home ix. 51 I..bought all the papers, and read their ‘wanteds’ over my lunch.
1949 Meet yourself at Doctor's (Mass-observation Surv.) 64 On a notice-board in the general weighing room mothers advertise their ‘Wanteds’ and ‘For Sales’—prams, pram-blankets, shawls, canopies.
1996 J. Harrison Going Local (1998) vii. 147 In the wanteds, one announcement stood out.
2. colloquial. A person wanted by the police or a similar agency in connection with a crime. Cf. most wanted adj. and n. (b) at most adj., pron., n., and adv. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1895 ‘D. Donovan’ Dark Deeds 59 At the period I am dealing with the French watering place was more resorted to by the ‘wanteds’ on this side of the channel than it is now.
1903 Daily Chron. 25 Mar. 3/4 A policeman arresting a ‘wanted’ in a common lodging-house.
1950 Mirror (Perth, Austral.) 4 Mar. 2 (headline) Sydney ‘wanteds’ held in Karachi.
2013 P. P. McDonald in J. I. Ross Encycl. Street Crime in Amer. 248/1 Maple created a highly successful warrant unit whose members appeared at the doors of ‘wanteds’ at three in the morning.
Compounds
wanted file n. U.S. a file containing the names and photographs of suspected criminals or fugitives wanted by the police or a similar agency.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > the object of seeking > list of persons sought by police, etc.
wanted list1890
wanted file1909
1909 Indiana (Pa.) Evening Gaz. 4 May 4/3 Fred Bender, who is wanted in Canton, O., on a charge of robbery, has been arrested here. His picture has been in the ‘wanted’ files for four years.
1967 ‘E. Peters’ Black is Colour i. 20 Just take a look at 'em!.. Every one of 'em straight out of the wanted file.
2011 J. R. Baker & S. J. Rivele Vice xx. 365 ‘Isn't that Lyn Steward?’ I said to Arellanes. He peered at the man. ‘I don't know,’ he replied. He reached for the Wanted file we kept in the car.
wanted list n. a list of suspected criminals or fugitives wanted by the police or a similar agency.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > the object of seeking > list of persons sought by police, etc.
wanted list1890
wanted file1909
1890 Burlington (Iowa) Hawk-eye 26 July 2/5 It required a dozen telegrams from the authorities at Boone, stating that he was not on the wanted list, to see him safely to his journey's end.
1964 I. Fleming You only live Twice xix. 228 The C.I.A. on whose wanted list I certainly feature.
1968 P. Durst Badge of Infamy v. 50 I checked with the International War Crimes commission to see if Von Friede was on the wanted list.
1982 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 15 Jan. 21/6 The man's name, police said, did not appear on any wanted lists.
1992 Independent 22 June 1/2 Neither the Home Office nor the police keeps an up-to-date wanted list of escapers.
wanted poster n. a poster displaying details of a person or persons wanted by the police or a similar agency, usually under the heading ‘Wanted’.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > publishing or spreading by leaflets or notices > [noun] > placarding, postering, or billing > a placard, notice, or bill > types of
window bill?1790
showcard1826
officiality1843
window card1846
star bill1876
one-sheet1895
stickyback1903
hanger1905
wanted poster1925
dazibao1960
wall-poster1962
1925 Whitewright (Texas) Sun 1 Jan. The man was slain..in a pistol duel with officers, who saw in his features resemblance to the picture of Teal on the ‘wanted’ poster.
1970 T. Lilley Projects Section xiv. 177 There would always be those in the crowd who would recognise the corpse—either from ‘Wanted’ posters or from personal acquaintance.
1998 Independent 23 Oct. i. 3/2 The other nine people on the wanted poster include alleged terrorists, murderers, a kidnapper and a drug dealer and rapist.
Derivatives
ˈwantedness n. the fact or condition of being wanted.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > [noun] > condition of being wanted or in demand
in request?1574
wantedness1871
1871 F. H. Laing Blessed Virgin's Root i. ii. 38 Which therefore rests for its base as fact upon nothing, but its own wantedness in the eyes of those who have invented it.
1973 Times 30 May 10/4 ‘Wantedness’ rather than biological parenthood would seem to be the most important factor in giving a baby the best chance in life.
2006 J. E. Halley Split Decisions iii. 300 It was precisely the loss of certainty about wantedness that the players were seeking.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1619