desideratum
Other forms: desiderata
A desideratum is something you desire or want. It's a fancy word for a must-have.
This official-sounding Latin word means something very common: anything you want or need. A new book could be a desideratum. A chocolate cake could be a desideratum. More commonly, a desideratum is something that is truly needed, like food or shelter. For many people, a happy marriage is a desideratum. For a politician, getting elected is a desideratum. You can almost see the word desire in desideratum, and that should help you remember it’s an object of desire.
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Vocabulary lists containing desideratum
Following the Constitutional Convention in 1787, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay published a series of essays supporting the new Constitution. Together these essays are called The Federalist Papers. Federalist No. 10 by Madison is considered one of the most important political documents in U.S. history. Madison discusses political factions, which in today's language might be called political parties. The essay was first published in newspapers under the pen name "Publius." Read the full text here.
As you read James Madison's "The Federalist No. 10," learn this word list. Here are links to lists for texts in Grade 11's Collection 2: The Declaration of Independence, Preamble and Bill of Rights, The Federalist No. 10, Thomas Jefferson: The Best of Enemies, Colonial American poems, A Soldier for the Crown
faction aggregate reciprocal latent apportionment efficacy comprised pervade