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Glite Dictionary
🌠 To hope 🌠 A hope 🤞 To express hope 🤞 Kind words
to wish

to wish

∞ 1.0
To want something to happen, often when it seems unlikely, or to ask for it politely
  • verb
  • /wɪʃ/
translation icon : desear
  • I wish I knew, I wish I knew you wanted me.
  • I wish
  • be careful what you wish for
  • wish to thank

I don't, I, I, I, I kind of wish I knew.

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Examples

Synonyms

to want
vsto wish
∞ 1.0

To wish to have or do something

often expresses unlikely imagining or makes a polite request rather than direct desire
to hope
vsto wish
∞ 1.0

To want something to happen and think it may be possible

tends to treat desires as unlikely or imaginary or as polite requests
to care
vsto wish
  • Formal
∞ 1.0

To want to do something when making a polite offer or request

also covers unlikely or imaginary desires beyond polite offers
to desire
vsto wish
446 1.6

To want something very much

is milder and can express imaginary hopes or polite requests
to dream of
vsto wish
385 2.7

To wish for something you want, often something unlikely to happen

also covers ordinary wanting and polite requests rather than only imagining
to pray
vsto wish
  • Archaic
256 1.6

To beg someone urgently and humbly for something

is a more general desire or polite request rather than a humble plea

Idioms

you wish
  • Informal
34 8.4

A way to say you do not think someone will get what they want

to wish upon a star
  • Baby Talk
4 6.3

To look at a star and make a wish hoping it will come true

your wish is my command
1 5.3

A polite way to say you will do what someone asks

Phrasal Verbs

to wish well
54 2.7

To hope that someone will have good luck or success

Compounds

death wish
  • Specialized
29 8.6

A secret desire to die that a person does not show

wish list
27 1.9

A list of things or experiences someone wants

wish-wash
  • Archaic
9.5

Unclear or silly talk without any real meaning

wish-wash
  • Archaic
9.9

A weak, watery drink with little taste

How Strong

to crave
103 3.8
to yearn
92 4.9
to long
114 4.5
to want
∞ 1.0
to wish
∞ 1.0
to hope
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

wish infinitive
wished past
wished past participle
wishing present participle
wishes third person singular

Etymology

Wish comes from an old English word that meant 'to desire', so think of a wish as a small hope you send out into the future; that is why to wish is to want or hope for something, even if it feels unlikely.