wish
Usage
What are other ways to say wish?
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 verb, suggests a strong wish: They desire liberation. Want, usually colloquial in use, suggests a feeling of lack or need that imperatively demands fulfillment: People all over the world want peace.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She isn’t suited to caring and she doesn’t wish to fill her head with the minutiae of modern dying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
That’s also her message for how the party could improve its chances of courting her generation: “I wish they would just ask.”
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
"My case was horrendous and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The bottom line: Be careful what you wish for.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
“Almost,” said Willem slowly, “almost I could wish to have this same news of Kik. It would be good for him to be with Betsie and Father.”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
In hindsight, he says he wishes he hadn’t been talked into an ARM.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
So I respected his wishes and stayed quiet, and I helped him through his journey into the next chapter of his life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
At the entrance to one registration office, a maternity health leaflet wishes newlyweds “a happy marriage and a speedy pregnancy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
“When families talk openly about responsibilities, expectations and wishes, they tend to feel more confident about the future,” said Ryan Viktorin, a vice president and financial consultant at Fidelity Investments.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
He'd sent his wishes for her recovery in two of his many letters to the president, all of which were intercepted by White House staff before reaching Garfield.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
He wished Moore well, but said nothing further about Stephens or his vicious hit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
In closing submissions, Sani's legal representative said her client wished to apologise to the family.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Since the founding of the Soviet Union, Moscow’s security services have relied on inducing people they wished to arrest into committing some hostile or unlawful act in order to arrest them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Hayden also said she wished Net-a-Porter had a physical space where she could try on clothes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
No sooner had the words gone through my head than I wished they hadn’t.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Somehow, after just two games, the Chargers’ offense under McDaniel has Bolts fans wishing anyone else was running the show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
When I casually revealed the answer to my husband, he shook his head, wishing I hadn’t spoiled it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
I’m not wishing another pandemic on us, mind you.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Before May, he was a businessman who would drive around his home city of Wakefield wishing the potholes could be fixed.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
“I’m wishing I would’ve dragged some of those survival crackers down here with me.”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Vocabulary lists containing wish
