WISH

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does wish mean? 

• WISH (noun)
  The noun WISH has 4 senses:

1. a specific feeling of desire

2. an expression of some desire or inclination

3. (usually plural) a polite expression of desire for someone's welfare

4. the particular preference that you have

  Familiarity information: WISH used as a noun is uncommon.

• WISH (verb)
  The verb WISH has 6 senses:

1. hope for; have a wish

2. prefer or wish to do something

3. make or express a wish

4. feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of

5. order politely; express a wish for

6. invoke upon

  Familiarity information: WISH used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WISH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A specific feeling of desire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

want; wish; wishing

Context example:

he was above all wishing and desire

Hypernyms ("wish" is a kind of...):

desire (the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wish"):

velleity (a mere wish, unaccompanied by effort to obtain)

Derivation:

wish (make or express a wish)

wish (hope for; have a wish)

wish (feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of)

wish (prefer or wish to do something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An expression of some desire or inclination

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

indirect request; wish

Context example:

his crying was an indirect request for attention

Hypernyms ("wish" is a kind of...):

asking; request (the verbal act of requesting)

Derivation:

wish (make or express a wish)

wish (hope for; have a wish)

wish (feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(usually plural) a polite expression of desire for someone's welfare

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

compliments; regard; wish

Context example:

my best wishes

Hypernyms ("wish" is a kind of...):

greeting; salutation ((usually plural) an acknowledgment or expression of good will (especially on meeting))

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

Derivation:

wish (invoke upon)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The particular preference that you have

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

they should respect the wishes of the people

Hypernyms ("wish" is a kind of...):

druthers; preference (the right or chance to choose)

• WISH (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hope for; have a wish

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

I wish I could go home now

Hypernyms (to "wish" is one way to...):

desire; want (feel or have a desire for; want strongly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wish"):

desire; hope; trust (expect and wish)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They wish him to write the letter

Derivation:

wish (an expression of some desire or inclination)

wish; wishing (a specific feeling of desire)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Prefer or wish to do something

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

care; like; wish

Context example:

Would you like to come along to the movies?

Hypernyms (to "wish" is one way to...):

desire; want (feel or have a desire for; want strongly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wish"):

please (be the will of or have the will (to))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence examples:

They wish him to write the letter
They wish to move

Derivation:

wish (a specific feeling of desire)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make or express a wish

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

I wish that Christmas were over

Hypernyms (to "wish" is one way to...):

express; give tongue to; utter; verbalise; verbalize (articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise)

Verb group:

wish (order politely; express a wish for)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

wish (an expression of some desire or inclination)

wish (a specific feeling of desire)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Feel or express a desire or hope concerning the future or fortune of

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

wish; wish well

Hypernyms (to "wish" is one way to...):

desire; want (feel or have a desire for; want strongly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody something

Antonym:

begrudge (wish ill or allow unwillingly)

Derivation:

wish (an expression of some desire or inclination)

wish (a specific feeling of desire)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Order politely; express a wish for

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "wish" is one way to...):

order (make a request for something)

Verb group:

wish (make or express a wish)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Invoke upon

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

bid; wish

Context example:

bid farewell

Hypernyms (to "wish" is one way to...):

greet; recognise; recognize (express greetings upon meeting someone)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wish"):

congratulate; felicitate (express congratulations)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Derivation:

wish ((usually plural) a polite expression of desire for someone's welfare)

 Context examples 

But these men down there, they couldn't keep their word—no, not supposing they wished to; and what's more, they couldn't believe as you could.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

It was clear he did not wish to run too far away from them.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I was told that they wished it.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Then Oz asked, "What do you wish me to do?"

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

How often did I then wish myself with my dear Glumdalclitch, from whom one single hour had so far divided me!

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

“Very well, then, we wish to see his rooms,” said the lawyer; and when the woman began to declare it was impossible, “I had better tell you who this person is,” he added.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

You, perhaps, regard her as your sister, without any wish that she might become your wife.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

I did not wish her to tell me anything.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If I wished to know, I must go to Montpellier and ask her.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I wish we had any—it would be somebody to go to.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)