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.
verb (used without object)
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.
noun
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.
Verb Phrases
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
before 900; (v.) Middle English wisshen,Old English wȳscan; cognate with German wünschen,Old Norse æskja; akin to Old English wynn joy (see winsome), Latin venus charm (see Venus); (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v.
SYNONYMS FOR wish
1 crave.
5 direct, order.
12 will, want.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR wish ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for wish
1. Wish,desire,want indicate a longing for something. To wish is to feel an impulse toward attainment or possession of something; the strength of the feeling may be of greater or lesser intensity: I wish I could go home.Desire, a more formal word, suggests a strong wish: They desire a new regime.Want, usually colloquial in use, suggests a feeling of lack or need that imperatively demands fulfillment: People all over the world want peace.
OTHER WORDS FROM wish
wisher,nounwishless,adjectivein·ter·wish,verb (used with object),nounoutwish,verb (used with object)
Words nearby wish
Wise Men, wisenheimer, wisent, wise up, wise up to, wish, wishbone, wishbone boom, wishful, wish fulfillment, wish fulfilment
Sending our love and best wishes to you both as you start your new life together.
How to turn down a wedding invitation during the coronavirus pandemic|Brooke Henderson|August 23, 2020|Fortune
While there is a wish amongst leaders to protect their own people first, the response to this pandemic has to be collective.
WHO chief warns the world: Don’t fall prey to COVID ‘vaccine nationalism’|Sy Mukherjee|August 19, 2020|Fortune
There’s a wish list from San Diego Council members of what they’d like to get done with that $62 million.
The City Is Walking a Fine Line in Demanding Millions From Its Next Power Provider|MacKenzie Elmer|August 7, 2020|Voice of San Diego
We get lots of encouraging comments from users whose wishes were included in our roadmap.
How to turn your customer feedback into a driving force for your product|Maria Kazakova|June 18, 2020|Search Engine Watch
Now, it should be noted that meta robots tag might be ignored at any point, but mostly crawlers respect the wishes of the webmasters.
Eight HTML elements crucial for SEO|Aleh Barysevich|May 5, 2020|Search Engine Watch
And yes, our values include tolerance of those who wish to make fun of religion.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I wish I was a young Carole King, working in the Brill Building.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
At this point Marvin gives his Liberty Valance smile, the kind that makes you wish you could disintegrate in front of him.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Still, I wish that DuVernay had given us more about those who are less famous besides a scene where they all eat dinner together.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’|Gary May|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For all that we may wish it to be, “dating” simply is not the dominant romantic culture here.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating|Ellie Schaack|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And I could not speak a consoling word to her; Klaus did not wish it.
A Sister's Love|W. Heimburg
I wish our job was finished and we were going the other way.
Wyndham's Pal|Harold Bindloss
Why was he not strong in health and body like the people about him, and yet for whom did he wish to labor?
Jack|Alphonse Daudet
He had obtained his passport, and had come to wish me good-bye.
Valerie|Frederick Marryat
He had many questions to ask about them, in the course of which he expressed a wish that he might visit them.
Oscar|Walter Aimwell
British Dictionary definitions for wish
wish
/ (wɪʃ) /
verb
(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)formalto order politelyI wish you to come at three o'clock
noun
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)formala polite order or request
See also wish on
Derived forms of wish
wisher, nounwishless, adjective
Word Origin for wish
Old English wӯscan; related to Old Norse öskja, German wünschen, Dutch wenschen