Wanting In: Standard Pattern
Wanting In: Standard Pattern records the directly documented construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.
Use “wanting in” in formal English when someone or something lacks a particular quality.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Context | Use | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| formal statement that someone/something lacks a quality | wanting in | Use “wanting in + quality.” |
| fixed expression be found wanting | separate construction | Do not treat it as the same complement pattern. |
| other meaning of wanting | check sense | Keep the guide bounded to the documented formal adjective construction. |
Quick tests
Lacking-quality test
Are you formally saying that a person or thing lacks a named quality?
If yes: Use “wanting in + quality.”
If no: If you mean desire or the fixed phrase “found wanting,” use the appropriate separate construction.
Caveat: This is a formal pattern and does not describe every use of “wanting.”
Examples
The proposal is wanting in detail.
The formal construction means the proposal lacks detail.
His explanation was wanting in clarity.
“In” introduces the quality judged to be lacking.
The plan was found wanting.
This is the separate fixed expression without an “in” complement.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “wanting in” in formal English when someone or something lacks a particular quality.
Style Boundary
The adjective “wanting” has other meanings and “be found wanting” is a separate fixed expression; this guide covers the directly documented “wanting in + quality” pattern.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- WANTING | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press & Assessment · Cambridge dictionary evidence for wanting in as a documented construction.