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wish
8 dictionary results for: wish
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
wish       [wish] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used with object)
1.to want; desire; long for (usually fol. by an infinitive or a clause): I wish to travel. I wish that it were morning.
2.to desire (a person or thing) to be (as specified): to wish the problem settled.
3.to entertain wishes, favorably or otherwise, for: to wish someone well; to wish someone ill.
4.to bid, as in greeting or leave-taking: to wish someone a good morning.
5.to request or charge: I wish him to come.
–verb (used without object)
6.to desire; long; yearn (often fol. by for): Mother says I may go if I wish. I wished for a book.
7.to make a wish: She wished more than she worked.
–noun
8.an act or instance of wishing.
9.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 phrase
12.wish on,
a.to force or impose (usually used in the negative): I wouldn't wish that awful job on my worst enemy.
b.Also, wish upon. to make a wish using some object as a magical talisman: to wish on a star.
[Origin: bef. 900; (v.) ME wisshen, OE wȳscan; c. G wünschen, ON æskja; akin to OE wynn joy (see winsome), L venus charm (see Venus); (n.) ME, deriv. of the v.]

—Related forms
wisher, noun
wishless, adjective

—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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
wish       (wĭsh)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A desire, longing, or strong inclination for a specific thing.
  2. An expression of a desire, longing, or strong inclination; a petition.
  3. Something desired or longed for.

v.   wished, wish·ing, wish·es

v.   tr.
  1. To long for; want. See Synonyms at desire.
  2. To entertain or express wishes for; bid: He wished her good night.
  3. To call or invoke upon: I wish them luck.
  4. To order or entreat: I wish you to go.
  5. To impose or force; foist: They wished a hard job on her.

v.   intr.
  1. To have or feel a desire: wish for the moon.
  2. To express a wish.


[Middle English wissh, from wisshen, to wish, from Old English wȳscan; see wen-1 in Indo-European roots.]

wish'er n.
Usage Note: Wish is widely used as a polite substitute for want with infinitives: Do you wish to sit at a table on the terrace? Anyone who wishes to may leave now. This usage is appropriate for formal style, where it is natural to treat the desires of others with exaggerated deference. The corresponding use of wish with a noun-phrase object is less frequent: Anyone who wishes an aisle seat should see an attendant. Both usages are likely to sound stilted in informal style, however, and want may be substituted for wish. · A traditional rule requires the use of were rather than was in a contrary-to-fact statement that follows wish: I wish I were (not was) lighter on my feet. While many people continue to insist on upholding this rule, the indicative was in such clauses can be found in the works of many well-known writers. See Usage Notes at if, want.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
wish  (v.)
O.E. wyscan "to wish," from P.Gmc. *wunskijanan (cf. O.N. æskja, Dan. ønske, Swed. önska, M.Du. wonscen, Du. wensen, O.H.G. wunsken, Ger. wunschen "to wish"), from PIE *wun-/*wen-/*won- "to strive after, wish, desire, be satisfied" (cf. Skt. vanati "he desires, loves, wins," L. venus "love, sexual desire, loveliness," venerari "to worship;" see Venus). The noun is attested from c.1300. Wishful first recorded 1523. Wishful thinking is recorded from 1932; wish fulfillment (1901) translates Ger. wunscherfüllung (Freud, "Die Traumdeutung," 1900).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
wish

noun
1. a specific feeling of desire; "he got his wish"; "he was above all wishing and desire" 
2. an expression of some desire or inclination; "I could tell that it was his wish that the guests leave"; "his crying was an indirect request for attention" 
3. (usually plural) a polite expression of desire for someone's welfare; "give him my kind regards"; "my best wishes" [syn: regard] 
4. the particular preference that you have; "it was his last wish"; "they should respect the wishes of the people" 

verb
1. hope for; have a wish; "I wish I could go home now" 
2. prefer or wish to do something; "Do you care to try this dish?"; "Would you like to come along to the movies?" 
3. make or express a wish; "I wish that Christmas were over" 
4. feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of [ant: begrudge] 
5. order politely; express a wish for 
6. invoke upon; "wish you a nice evening"; "bid farewell" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

wish

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


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Wish

Wish\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wished; p. pr. & vb. n. Wishing.] [OE. wischen, weschen, wuschen, AS. w?scan; akin to D. wenschen, G. w["u]nschen, Icel. [ae]eskja, Dan. ["o]nske, Sw. ["o]nska; from AS. w?sc a wish; akin to OD. & G. wunsch, OHG. wunsc, Icel. ?sk, Skr. v[=a]?ch[=a] a wish, v[=a]?ch to wish; also to Skr. van to like, to wish. ?. See Winsome, Win, v. t., and cf. Wistful.]

1. To have a desire or yearning; to long; to hanker.

They cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. --Acts xxvii. 29.

This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for. --Arbuthnot.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Wish

Wish\, v. t. 1. To desire; to long for; to hanker after; to have a mind or disposition toward.

I would not wish Any companion in the world but you. --Shak.

I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper. --3. John 2.

2. To frame or express desires concerning; to invoke in favor of, or against, any one; to attribute, or cal down, in desire; to invoke; to imprecate.

I would not wish them to a fairer death. --Shak.

I wish it may not prove some ominous foretoken of misfortune to have met with such a miser as I am. --Sir P. Sidney.

Let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil. --Ps. xl. 14.

3. To recommend; to seek confidence or favor in behalf of. [Obs.] --Shak.

I would be glad to thrive, sir, And I was wished to your worship by a gentleman. --B. Jonson.

Syn: See Desire.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Wish

Wish\, n. 1. Desire; eager desire; longing.

Behold, I am according to thy wish in God a stead. --Job xxxiii. 6.

2. Expression of desire; request; petition; hence, invocation or imprecation.

Blistered be thy tongue for such a wish. --Shak.

3. A thing desired; an object of desire.

Will he, wise, let loose at once his ire . . . To give his enemies their wish! --Milton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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