Desire refers to someone or something wished for. It commonly describes strong attraction, particularly romantic or sexual, the feeling of desiring; an eager longing for something, and motivation, which gives the term a broader and more practical sense than a single short definition would suggest. Depending on context, it can also point to to want; to wish for earnestly, to put a request to (someone); to entreat, and to want emotionally or sexually, so the category can cover literal uses, related ideas, and more figurative extensions of the same core meaning. Taken together, these meanings present Desire as a flexible theme rather than a narrowly technical label, covering the central idea people usually mean when they use the word while still leaving room for closely related senses that appear in real language. Additional shades of meaning include to express a wish for; to entreat; to request, to require; to demand; to claim, and to miss; to regret, which reinforce how the category can stretch across adjacent but still recognizable uses of the same term. Desire therefore works well as a quotation category because it can hold direct statements about the subject, figurative uses that borrow its meaning, and broader reflections that stay anchored to the same central idea.
