wish

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Dictionary: wish (wĭsh) pronunciation

A desire, longing, or strong inclination for a specific thing.
An expression of a desire, longing, or strong inclination; a petition.
Something desired or longed for.

v., wished, wish·ing, wish·es.

v.tr.

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

v.intr.

To have or feel a desire: wish for the moon.
To express a wish.

[Middle English wissh, from wisshen, to wish, from Old English wȳscan.]

wisher 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 werelighter 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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Thesaurus: wish

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noun

See

verb

To have the desire or inclination to: choose, desire, like¹, please, want, will. Idioms: have a mind, see fit. See desire.
To have a strong longing for: ache, covet, desire, hanker, long², pant, pine, want, yearn. Informal hone². See desire.

Idioms: wish

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Idioms beginning with wish:
wishful thinking
wish on

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

Antonyms: wish

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Definition: desire
Antonyms: dislike, hate, hatred

v

Definition: desire
Antonyms: dislike, hate

Word Tutor: wish

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IN BRIEF: To have a longing for. Also: Something wanted or hoped for.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. — Gandhi (1869-1948).

Wikipedia: Wish

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This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (September 2008)

A fairy offering wishes, illustration by John Bauer to Alfred Smedberg's The seven wishes

For other uses, see Wish (disambiguation).

A wish is a hope or desire for something. Fictionally, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used.

1 In literature
2 In practice
3 See also
4 References

In literature

In fiction a wish is a supernatural demand placed on the recipient's unlimited request. When it is the center of a tale, the wish is usually a template for a morality tale, "be careful what you wish for"; it can also be a small part of a tale, in which case it is often used as a plot device.

A template for fictional wishes could be The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, specifically the tale of Aladdin, although in the tale of Aladdin the actual wishes were only part of the tale. Also, Aladdin's demands, while outrageous, were mainly variations on wealth (which is still often taken as the most common request).

Classically the wish provider is often a spirit, Genie or similar entity, bound or constrained within a commonplace object (Aladdin's oil lamp for example) or a container closed with Solomon's seal. Releasing the entity from its constraint, usually by some simple action, allows the object's possessor to make a wish.

The subservience of the extraordinarily powerful entity to the wisher can be explained in several ways. The entity may be grateful to be free of its constraint and the wish is a thank-you gift. The entity may be bound to obedience by its prison or some other item that the wisher possesses. The entity may, by its nature, be unable to exercise its powers without an initiator.

Other wish providers are a wide variety of, more or less, inanimate objects. W.W. Jacob's Monkey's Paw is an example of this. Piers Anthony puts a spin on this idea in Castle Roogna: a magic ring claims to grant wishes and then claims credit when a wish comes true, apparently from the unaided efforts of the characters—but every wish made on the ring sooner or later comes true.^[1]

Some wishes appear to be granted by nothing in particular. Snow White's mother's wish for a beautiful child might have been a coincidence,^[2] but the father's wish in The Seven Ravens transforms his sons into ravens,^[3] just as the mother's wish in The Raven transforms her daughter. This is common in a tale involving a person, male or female, wishing for a child, even one that is a hedgehog, or a sprig of myrtle, or no bigger than a hazel nut.

The number of wishes granted varies. Aladdin had an unlimited number. As in the Charles Perrault tale The Ridiculous Wishes, three is the most common,^[4] but others may be granted to fit the constraints of the tale. Several authors have spun variations of the wish for more wishes theme, though some disallow this as cheating.

In many stories the wording of the wish is extremely important. For example, characters often say, "I wish I was wealthy." This wording could be taken literally, the wish granted so that at one time the wisher was (used to be) wealthy but is not any more. Saying, "I wish to be wealthy", then because "to be" refers to either the present or the future, they would become wealthy.

A common problem is the granter of the wish being either extremely literal or through malice granting the request in a manner designed to cause maximum distress (such as a request for wealth being granted through inheritance/insurance on the death of a loved one). Certain authors have also tried an "always on" approach: the careless use of the word "wish" in everyday conversation having, often unpleasant, consequences.

In practice

Some cultures have customs in which people are encouraged to "make a wish", such as blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, seeing a shooting star at night, tossing a coin into a wishing well or fountain, or breaking the wishbone of a cooked turkey. Traditionally, such wishes can only come true if you keep them a secret from other people.

Wishes are to be kept secret and will not come true if they are told. There is also a misconception that telling your boy/girlfriend the wish will still let it come true thought this is incorrect.

References

^ John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Rings", p 813 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
^ Maria Tatar, The Annotated Brothers Grimm, p 243 W. W. Norton & company, London, New York, 2004 ISBN 0-393-05848-4
^ Maria Tatar, The Annotated Brothers Grimm, p 136 W. W. Norton & company, London, New York, 2004 ISBN 0-393-05848-4
^ Maria Tatar, The Annotated Brothers Grimm, p 166 W. W. Norton & company, London, New York, 2004 ISBN 0-393-05848-4

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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Translations: Wish

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - ville gerne, ønske
v. intr. - ønske
n. - ønske

idioms:

Best wishes bedste ønsker, bedste hilsner
wish list ønskeseddel
wish on påtvinge, prakke på
wish to hell håber fandme

Nederlands (Dutch)
(toe)wensen, verlangen, wens

Français (French)
v. tr. - souhaiter ardemment, souhaiter, vouloir, désirer
v. intr. - vouloir, souhaiter, espérer, faire un v¯u
n. - désir, souhait, envie, volonté, intention, v¯u, v¯ux (npl)

idioms:

Best wishes meilleurs v¯ux, mes amitiés
wish list souhaits
wish something on souhaiter le mal pour qn
wish to hell souhaiter et espérer ardemment

Deutsch (German)
n. - Wunsch
v. - wünschen, (ugs.) aufhalsen

idioms:

Best wishes Mit herzlichen Grüßen
wish list Wunschliste
wish something on den Wunsch haben,daß jdm. etwas Unangenehmes passiert
wish to hell zum Teufel wünschen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - επιθυμία, ευχή, λαχτάρα
v. - επιθυμώ, θέλω, λαχταρώ, εύχομαι, κάνω ευχή

idioms:

Best wishes θερμές ευχές
wish list κατάλογος αντικειμένων που επιθυμεί κάποιος
wish on εύχομαι να λάχει (κάτι) σε
wish to hell εύχομαι με όλη μου την καρδιά

Italiano (Italian)
desiderare, augurare, desiderio

idioms:

Best wishes cordiali saluti
wish list lista dei desideri
wish on rifilare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - desejo (m)
v. - desejar

idioms:

Best wishes Atenciosamente (usado em fim de correspondências)
wish list lista de desejos
wish on presentear

Русский (Russian)
хотеть, выражать желание, стремиться, пожелать (кому-л. что-л.), загадывать желание, выражать просьбу или приказание, воля, стремление, желание, просьба, предмет желаний, проклятие

idioms:

Best wishes наилучшие пожелания
wish list перечень вожделенных предметов
wish on навязывать, возлагать, насылать (беды)

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - desear, querer, anhelar, pedir
v. intr. - desear, anhelar
n. - deseo, anhelo

idioms:

Best wishes los mejores votos, felicitaciones calurosas
wish list lista mental o hipotética de deseos
wish something on desear la desgracia de alguien
wish to hell ¡ojalá!

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - önskan
v. - önska, vilja

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
愿, 希望, 想要, 愿望, 请求, 心愿

idioms:

Best wishes 祝好, 信尾用语
wish list 在某一场合想要得到的所有东西
wish on 把...强加于
wish to hell 愿...遭殃

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 願, 希望, 想要
v. intr. - 希望
n. - 願望, 請求, 心願

idioms:

Best wishes 祝好, 信尾用語
wish list 在某一場合想要得到的所有東西
wish on 把...強加於
wish to hell 願...遭殃

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 바라다, ~하고 싶다
v. intr. - 원하다, 빌다
n. - 소원, 호의, 의뢰

idioms:

wish on ~에게 떠맡기다, 전가하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 願う, 望む, 欲する, 祈る, 述べる, 押し付ける, …が…であれかしと思う, …であれかしと思う, 願いをかける
n. - 願い, 願望, 請い, 望み, 望みの物

idioms:

wish list 欲しいもの全て
wish on …に…を押し付ける

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مراد, رغبه, مرام, مبتغى, إرادة (فعل) يريد, يروم, يبتغي, يرغب في, يتمنى, يشتهي, يتوق إلى, يتمنى له‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮רצה, השתוקק, בירך, הביע משאלה, ביקש, איחל‬
v. intr. - ‮רצה, השתוקק, ביטא רצון ל-‬
n. - ‮רצון, חפץ, משאלה, איחול, מיטב האיחולים, כל טוב, דרישת שלום, ד"ש‬

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Shopping: Wishes

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wishes cards	fairy wishes dora
Wedding Wishes Bowl	guest book of wedding wishes

Did you mean: wish, Wish (technology), Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams, Wishes (1994 Album by Lari White), Charles Wish, Wishes (Lyrics - Out of the Grey) More...

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	desirer
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wish

Contents

In literature

In practice

See also

References