wish
Americanverb (used with object)
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to want; desire; long for (usually followed by an infinitive or a clause).
I wish to travel.
I wish that it were morning.
- Synonyms:
- crave
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to desire (a person or thing) to be (as specified).
to wish the problem settled.
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to entertain wishes, favorably or otherwise, for.
to wish someone well;
to wish someone ill.
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to bid, as in greeting or leave-taking.
to wish someone a good morning.
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to request or charge.
I wish him to come.
verb (used without object)
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to desire; long; yearn (often followed byfor ).
Mother says I may go if I wish.
I wished for a book.
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to make a wish.
She wished more than she worked.
noun
verb phrase
verb
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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
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(tr) to feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of
I wish you well
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(tr) to desire or prefer to be as specified
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(tr) to greet as specified; bid
he wished us good afternoon
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formal (tr) to order politely
I wish you to come at three o'clock
noun
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the act of wishing; the expression of some desire or mental inclination
to make a wish
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something desired or wished for
he got his wish
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(usually plural) expressed hopes or desire, esp for someone's welfare, health, etc
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formal (often plural) a polite order or request
Usage
What are other ways to say wish? To wish is to want or long for something. How is wish different from desire and want? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wishsimple
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wishessimple
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have wishedperfect
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has wishedperfect
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am wishingprogressive
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are wishingprogressive
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is wishingprogressive
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have been wishingperfect progressive
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has been wishingperfect progressive
Past
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wishedsimple
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had wishedperfect
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was wishingprogressive
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were wishingprogressive
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had been wishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wish
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb wishen, Old English wȳscan; cognate with German wünschen, Old Norse æskja; akin to Old English wynn “joy” ( see winsome), Latin venus “charm” ( see Venus); noun derivative of the verb
Vocabulary lists containing wish
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"This limits the right of the public to vote for whom they wish," he argued.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
I wouldn’t say anyone’s asking for this, but we want to do some little wish fulfillment, or just live in a world where you can pretend that this is happening.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
"For now, I wish to be given the space to keep on broadcasting the music I love to the listeners I love even more. These are the days of our lives," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
I wish he was a little bit more of an ace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
I wish I had space from him to think.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Radio 2 said it sends "our love and best wishes to Paul", and added it would continue to support him on his "beautifully crafted weekly music show".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
"He started crying a little bit, and said he wishes he hadn’t done it."
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
Ma married Pa, her social inferior, against her mother’s wishes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
This highlights the changing nature of holistic planning, which encompasses a lot more than just your funeral wishes and what happens to your most cherished possessions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
He can’t get to that picture, as much as he wishes he could.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
Zelensky wished him a happy birthday and asked how he was doing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
When I got out of the car, we wished each other luck, and I headed inside and shut the door.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Meanwhile, 3% said they have wished to decline an invitation themselves but felt too judged.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Farage would be allowed to stand in the resulting by-election for the Clacton constituency in southeast England if he wished.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
When Tante Jans wished to go some-where, she stationed herself on the sidewalk directly in front of the watch-shop door and, as the horses thundered close, held up a single gloved finger.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy congratulated the shortlisted places, while wishing them luck for the next stage of the process.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
“Our entire practice joins in wishing you a fantastic birthday filled with joy and good health!”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
“I realized a lot of wives were wishing their husbands were there and they weren’t,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
“Being Latina and living in L.A. right now, that hit so close to home. I have a lot of experience wishing for the safety of the people in my community.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
She took a few steps away from him, wishing that she had his aunt there, who apparently was the only Harari who had any clue what they were doing.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
