wish

{{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}}

noun

1 feeling that you want sth

ADJECTIVE

▪ dearest, deepest, desperate, fervent, fondest (esp. AmE), greatest, strong

▪ conscious, unconscious

▪ secret

▪ express, expressed

▪ dying, final, last

▪

He was denied his dying wish to be reconciled with his son.

▪ death

▪

Freud's theory of the death wish

▪ personal

▪ parental

▪

the child's detention against parental wishes

VERB + WISH

▪ have

▪

I have no wish to cause any trouble among them.

▪ express, make known

▪

She has expressed a wish to seek asylum here.

▪ fulfil/fulfill

▪

She fulfilled her deepest wish when she flew solo for the first time.

▪ get

▪

She's always wanted to be an actress, and I'm sure she'll get her wish.

▪ grant (sb)

▪ honour/honor, respect, take into account

▪

It is vital for schools to respect the wishes of parents.

▪ carry out, comply with, meet

▪

We need to update our equipment if we are to meet customers' wishes.

▪ obey

▪

She flew into a rage if the staff didn't obey her wishes.

▪ deny sb

▪ disregard, go against, ignore, override (esp. BrE), ride roughshod over (BrE)

▪

She eventually went against her family's wishes and published her autobiography.

▪

The Government blatantly ignored the wishes of the public.

▪

The committee rode roughshod over the wishes of union members.

▪ reflect

▪

The change to the constitution reflects the wishes of the people who voted in the referendum.

WISH + NOUN

▪ fulfilment/fulfillment

▪ list

▪

Draw up a wish list, defining the requirements for your ideal home.

PREPOSITION

▪ against sb's wishes

▪

Against his mother's wishes, he decided to quit school and look for a job.

▪

The meeting took place against the wishes of the State Department.

▪

Her father will not speak to her, because she married against his wishes.

▪ in sb's wish

▪

In his wish to be as helpful as possible, he was forever asking her what she wanted.

▪ in accordance with sb's wishs

▪

In accordance with his wishes, his ashes were scattered at sea.

▪ wish for

▪

a wish for peace

2 saying secretly to yourself what you want to happen

VERB + WISH

▪ have, make

▪

When you see a black cat, you have to make a wish.

▪ get

▪

If you're the one who finds the hidden box, you get a wish.

▪ grant

▪

The good fairy granted her three wishes.

WISH + VERB

▪ come true

▪

On Christmas Day their wishes came true.

3 (usually wishes) hope that sb will be happy

ADJECTIVE

▪ best, good

▪

Give my best wishes to Alison.

▪ well (AmE)

▪

Thanks to all those who sent well wishes.

▪ heartfelt, sincere

VERB + WISH

▪ give sb, send (sb)

PREPOSITION

▪ with … wishes (at the end of a letter)

▪

With best wishes for a happy birthday.

▪ wish for

▪

Every good wish for your future happiness together.

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verb

ADVERB

▪ dearly, desperately, devoutly (esp. AmE), fervently, heartily, really, sincerely

▪

I heartily wished that I had stayed at home.

▪

I really wish I could go to America.

▪ hard

▪

If you wish really hard, maybe you'll get what you want.

▪ secretly

▪ just, merely, only, simply

▪

‘Where is he now?’ ‘I only wish I knew.’

▪ sometimes

▪ almost

▪

When I see the kids playing football, I almost wish I was their age again.

PREPOSITION

▪ for

▪

It's no use wishing for the impossible.

Wish is used with these nouns as the object: ↑farewell, ↑happiness, ↑harm, ↑luck, ↑recovery