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:
“I wish I could have handled that situation a whole lot better,” Hill testified.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
If she persists, you may wish to make it clear that being single and without children does not mean that you have to abide by other people’s wishes.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
"Do I wish I'd had that advice at the time? 1,000 per cent," Ashe says.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
She pointed to a desire to boost domestic production in agriculture and other sectors, alongside a wish to propagate "family values" and liberties.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
I keep replaying Rose’s words: I wish someone would tell the truth about what happened to them.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
BBC Southern and Eastern Europe Correspondent Sarah Rainsford is in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican as people sent their well wishes to the pontiff.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Mr. El-Sayed sends his thanks and best wishes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
One woman in her early 30s, who wishes to be identified as Chery Lokko, says she prefers to travel in peace.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
“For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
He hears the chatter from the porch, the wishes and prayers.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
"I pray that this doesn't happen to anyone else and that, going forward, the law will be applied justly in Indonesia," the former student, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
None of the thousands of couples I’ve worked with over the past 30 years have ever told me they wished they’d bought a fancier car.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
"The fact that the war is beginning to wind down quickly brings relief," the Mekelle resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
The event’s mantra: “Building the tools we wished we’d had for the Hugging Face incident.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Also, if he was listing grievances, he often wished that they’d had the sense not to name him after a guy who got swallowed up by a whale.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
But Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated that security forces "are not cracking down on young people" but rather "protecting" school and university students wishing to "peacefully voice their demands".
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
She refers to them as her “soul mates” and feels guilty wishing for a romantic partner when she already has three lifelong best friends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 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
Seven’s amulet filled with the muddy red color of the Spare coven, and she shut her eyes tight, wishing that she could just disappear.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Vocabulary lists containing wish
