Help vs Wish - What's the difference?
help | wish |
(uncountable) Action given to provide assistance; aid.
(usually, uncountable) Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.
Documentation provided with computer software, etc. and accessed using the computer.
(usually, uncountable) One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
(uncountable, euphemistic) Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
To provide assistance to (someone or something).
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= To contribute in some way to.
To provide assistance.
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=19 * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can .
a desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen
an expression of such a desire etc.
the process of expressing or thinking about such a desire etc. (often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power(s)
the thing desired or longed for
* 1901 , , (w, The Monkey's Paw)
(Sussex) a water meadow.
(label) To desire; to want.
* (William Shakespeare)
*
, passage=Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish', I ' wish he’d go away …}}
To hope (for a particular outcome).
* (John Arbuthnot) (1667-1735)
* 1901 , , (w, The Monkey's Paw)
To bestow (a thought or gesture) towards (someone or something).
* (William Shakespeare)
* Bible, (Psalms) xl. 14
To request or desire to do an activity.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
, title= (label) To recommend; to seek confidence or favour on behalf of.
* (Ben Jonson)
As nouns the difference between help and wish
is that help is (uncountable) action given to provide assistance; aid while wish is a desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.As verbs the difference between help and wish
is that help is to provide assistance to (someone or something) while wish is (label) to desire; to want.help
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl), from (etyl) .Noun
(en-noun)- I need some help with my homework.
- He was a great help to me when I was moving house.
- I've printed out a list of math helps .
- I can't find anything in the help about rotating an image.
- The help is coming round this morning to clean.
- Most of the hired help is seasonal, for the harvest.
- His suicide attempts were a cry for help .
- He really needs help in handling customer complaints.
- ''"He's a real road-rager." / "Yup, he really needs help , maybe anger management."
Usage notes
The sense "people employed to help in the maintenance of a house" is usually an uncountable mass noun. A countable form - "a hired help''", "''two hired helps " - is attested, but now less common.Quotations
(English Citations of "help")Synonyms
* (action given to provide assistance) aid, assistance * (person or persons who provide assistance) * (person employed to help in the maintenance of a house)Derived terms
* cry for help * help desk * helpful * helpless * helpline * helply * helpmate * helpmeet * helpsome * home help * self-helpEtymology 2
From (etyl) helpen, from (etyl) . Cognate with (etyl) .Verb
Snakes and ladders, passage=Risk is everywhere.
citation, passage=As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help , and he stripped off his tunic at once.}}
A punch in the gut, passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}
Usage notes
* Use 3 is often used in the imperative mood as a call for assistance. * In uses 1, 2 and 3, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . It can also take the bare infinitive with no change in meaning. * In use 4, can't help is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) or, with but, the bare infinitive. * For more information, seeSynonyms
* (provide assistance to) aid, assist, come to the aid of, help out * (contribute in some way to) contribute to * (provide assistance) assistDerived terms
* a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down * can't help * helper * helping * help oneself * help outwish
English
Noun
(es)- Your dearest wish will come true.
- "I suppose all old soldiers are the same," said Mrs White. "The idea of our listening to such nonsense! How could wishes be granted in these days? And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?" / "Might drop on his head from the sky," said the frivolous Herbert.
Usage notes
* Collocates with make for the common expression make a wish . SeeDerived terms
(Terms derived from the noun "wish") * death wish * best wishes * good wishes * make a wish * wishbone * wishful * wish list/wishlist/wish-list * your wish is my commandSee also
* precatory * velleityVerb
(es)- I would not wish / Any companion in the world but you.
- This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for.
- Mr. White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it dubiously. "I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact," he said slowly. "It seems to me I've got all I want."
- I would not wish them to a fairer death.
- Let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil.
Geothermal Energy, volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.}}
- I was wished to your worship by a gentleman.