wish

[wish] /wɪʃ/

verb (used with object)

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.

10.

an expression of a wish, often one of a kindly or courteous nature:

to send one's best wishes.

11.

something wished or desired:

He got his wish—a new car.

Verb phrases

12.

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

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.

Related forms

wisher, noun

wishless, adjective

interwish, verb (used with object), noun

outwish, verb (used with object)

Synonyms

1. crave. 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. 5. direct, order. 12. will, want.

Examples from the web for wish

Please complete one application for each program you wish to attend with students.
wish he was here to see all the controversy his biography is causing.
The decorations aren't permanent, so you can change the colors anytime you wish.
Colleges can use open-source software free and modify it as they wish.
Unfortunately for this plan, voters may wish to have something to say about the process.
Estimates suggest that several thousand people worldwide wish to get rid of a normal healthy limb.
If any of you wish to see more of my work, then follow the link below.
After you have collected clippings of the leaves you wish to use, gather stems into bunches of four or five.
Any one of those outcomes should be enough to make a student wish he or she had slept more in college.
They'll probably wish they'd read more carefully if they did.

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

(transitive) to feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of: I wish you well

(transitive) to desire or prefer to be as specified

(transitive) to greet as specified; bid: he wished us good afternoon

(transitive) (formal) to order politely: I wish you to come at three o'clock

noun

the act of wishing; the expression of some desire or mental inclination: to make a wish

something desired or wished for: he got his wish

(usually pl) expressed hopes or desire, esp for someone's welfare, health, etc

(often pl) (formal) a polite order or request

wish

In addition to the idiom beginning with wish also see: if wishes were horses