wish
English · Thesaurus
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wish¹
- /wɪʃ/ US, UK
Sounds like whish (wine–whine merger) · Rhymes with -ɪʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”).
Cognate with Scots wis (“to wish”), Saterland Frisian wonskje (“to wish”), West Frisian winskje (“to wish”), Dutch wensen (“to wish”), German wünschen (“to wish”), Luxembourgish wënschen (“to wish”), Yiddish ווינטשן (vintshn, “to wish”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ønske (“to wish”), Faroese ynskja (“to wish, to desire”), Icelandic æskja, óska (“to wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk ønskja, ønskje, ønska, ønske, ynskja, ynskje (“to wish, to desire”), Swedish önska (“to wish”). Via PIE cognate with Latin Venus, veneror (“venerate, honour, love”), English wonder.
noun wishes
- A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen. It is my wish that the bequest (should) be given to an almshouse.
- An expression of such a desire, often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power. make a wish
- The thing desired or longed for. My dearest wish is to see them happily married.
- A water meadow.
verb wishes · wishing · wished · wish
- To desire; to want. I'll come tomorrow, if you wish (it).
- To hope (+ object clause with may or in present subjunctive). I wish he mean me well, that he takes so much pains!
- To hope (for a particular outcome), even if that outcome is unlikely to occur or cannot occur. This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for.
- To bestow (a thought or gesture) towards (someone or something). We wish you a merry Christmas.
- To request or desire to do an activity. Anyone who wishes to may leave now.
- To recommend; to seek confidence or favour on behalf of. I was wished to your worship by a gentleman.
Wish²
proper noun
- A surname. There was Evans, and that marvel among actors, Wish, who is also a modest man. We had all come down to the Mermaid Club that Saturday morning, except Clayton, who had slept there overnight […]
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: want, compliments, will, like, regard, care, bid, indirect request, wish well, wishful, hope, intend, desired, desire, desiring, aspiration
Translations
Every language
noun desire
| Español | deseo, gana |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 소원 sowon, 희망 huimang |
| 日本語 | 願い negai, 願望 ganbō, 希望 kibō |
| 中文 | 願望 /愿望 yuànwàng |
| हिन्दी | आशा āśā, इच्छा icchā, अभिलाषा abhilāṣā, कामना kāmnā, आकांक्षा ākāṅkṣā, चाह cāh |
| Português | desejo, pedido |
| Français | souhait |
| Deutsch | Wunsch |
| Italiano | desiderio, voglia |
| Ελληνικά | ευχή efchí, επιθυμία epithymía |
| Română | dorință |
| Русский | жела́ние želánije |
| Tiếng Việt | mong muốn |
| العربية | أُمْنِيَّة ʔumniyya, رَغْبَة raḡba, مُنْيَة munya |
| עברית | משאלה mish'alá |
verb to hope for an outcome
| Español | desear |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 빌다 bilda, 바라다 barada, 원하다 wonhada, 희망하다 huimanghada, 소원하다 sowonhada |
| 日本語 | 願う negau, 祈る inoru, 欲する hossuru, 望む nozomu, 希望する kibō suru |
| 中文 | 願望 /愿望 yuànwàng, 希望 xīwàng, 但願 /但愿 dànyuàn |
| हिन्दी | चाहना cāhnā, तमन्ना tamannā |
| Português | desejar |
| Français | souhaiter, espérer |
| Deutsch | wünschen |
| Italiano | volere, desiderare |
| Ελληνικά | εύχομαι éfchomai |
| Română | dori |
| Русский | жела́ть želátʹ, пожела́ть poželátʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | cầu mong, muốn, mong, hy vọng, chúc |
| العربية | تَمَنَّى tamannā |
| עברית | בִּקֵּשׁ biqqésh |
Talk about this word "wish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wish. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. wish. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wish "wish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wish.Cite this
@misc{wish_2026,
title = {wish},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wish},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
