wish
- to want; desire; long for (usually followed by an infinitive or a clause): I wish to travel. I wish that it were morning.
- to desire (a person or thing) to be (as specified): to wish the problem settled.
- to entertain wishes, favorably or otherwise, for: to wish someone well; to wish someone ill.
- to bid, as in greeting or leave-taking: to wish someone a good morning.
- to request or charge: I wish him to come.
- to desire; long; yearn (often followed by for): Mother says I may go if I wish. I wished for a book.
- to make a wish: She wished more than she worked.
- an act or instance of wishing.
- a request or command: I was never forgiven for disregarding my father's wishes.
- an expression of a wish, often one of a kindly or courteous nature: to send one's best wishes.
- something wished or desired: He got his wish—a new car.
- wish on,
- to force or impose (usually used in the negative): I wouldn't wish that awful job on my worst enemy.
- Also wish upon.to make a wish using some object as a magical talisman: to wish on a star.
Origin of wish
Synonyms for wish
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
Related Words for wish
longing, intention, aspiration, prayer, request, choice, will, yearning, preference, ambition, hope, inclination, envy, prefer, please, crave, yearn, choose, want, aspireExamples from the Web for wish
Contemporary Examples of wish
And yes, our values include tolerance of those who wish to make fun of religion.
I wish I was a young Carole King, working in the Brill Building.
At this point Marvin gives his Liberty Valance smile, the kind that makes you wish you could disintegrate in front of him.
Still, I wish that DuVernay had given us more about those who are less famous besides a scene where they all eat dinner together.
For all that we may wish it to be, “dating” simply is not the dominant romantic culture here.
Historical Examples of wish
"It is partly for your sake that I wish it, my poor child," said he.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
“I wish they may not be in league with them,” said Master Headley.
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge
I wish we might have talked more—I'm sure—when are you leaving?
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
I wish my father had intrusted his money to you instead of to the superintendent.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
"If there were any use in wishing, I'd wish myself on shore," said the second.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
wish
- (when tr, takes a clause as object or an infinitive; when intr, often foll by for) to want or desire (something, often that which cannot be or is not the case)I wish I lived in Italy; to wish for peace
- (tr) to feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune ofI wish you well
- (tr) to desire or prefer to be as specified
- (tr) to greet as specified; bidhe wished us good afternoon
- (tr) formal to order politelyI wish you to come at three o'clock
- the act of wishing; the expression of some desire or mental inclinationto make a wish
- something desired or wished forhe got his wish
- (usually plural) expressed hopes or desire, esp for someone's welfare, health, etc
- (often plural) formal a polite order or request
Word Origin for wish
Word Origin and History for wish
Old English wyscan "to wish," from Proto-Germanic *wunskijanan (cf. Old Norse æskja, Danish ønske, Swedish önska, Middle Dutch wonscen, Dutch wensen, Old High German wunsken, German wunschen "to wish"), from PIE *wun-/*wen-/*won- "to strive after, wish, desire, be satisfied" (cf. Sanskrit vanati "he desires, loves, wins," Latin venus "love, sexual desire, loveliness," venerari "to worship;" see Venus). The noun is attested from c.1300. Wish fulfillment (1901) translates German wunscherfüllung (Freud, "Die Traumdeutung," 1900).
Idioms and Phrases with wish
wish
In addition to the idiom beginning with wish
- wish on
also see:
- if wishes were horses