wish
noun · verb
Simple meaning
To hope for something, especially something unlikely.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
wishIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwɪʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
usually plural
A polite expression of desire for someone's welfare
A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.
An expression of some desire or inclination
“I could tell that it was his wish that the guests leave.”
An expression of such a desire, often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power.
The thing desired or longed for.
verb
Feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of
transitive
To desire; to want.
intransitivefollowed by to and an infinitive
To request or desire to do an activity.
intransitivefollowed by for
To hope (for a particular outcome), even if that outcome is unlikely to occur or cannot occur.
transitive
To recommend; to seek confidence or favour on behalf of.
Hope for; have a wish
“I wish I could go home now.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A polite expression of desire for someone's welfare
Used this way, wish is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Slightly formal
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Polite / expressionnoun
“I could tell that it was his wish that the guests leave.”
Hopeverb
“I wish I could go home now.”
More ways to use wish
- “I wish I could go home now.”verb
- “I could tell that it was his wish that the guests leave.”noun
- “I wish that Christmas were over.”verb
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A specific feeling of desire.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Having or expressing desire for something.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The furcula of a domestic fowl.
A magical cap that secures whatever one wishes for.
A list of events that you wish would occur.
Any thin watery drink.
Feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of.
Someone who shares your feelings or opinions and hopes that you will be successful.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The illusion that what you wish for is actually true.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.