What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Wish vs Thought - What's the difference?

wish | thought |

As nouns the difference between wish and thought

is that wish is a desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen while thought is form created in the mind, rather than the forms perceived through the five senses; an instance of thinking.

As verbs the difference between wish and thought

is that wish is to desire; to want while thought is past tense of think.

wish

English

Noun

(es)
  • 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
    • Your dearest wish will come true.
  • * 1901 , , (w, The Monkey's Paw)
    • "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.
  • (Sussex) a water meadow.

    • Usage notes

    * Collocates with make for the common expression make a wish . See

    Derived 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 command

    See also

    * precatory * velleity

    Verb

    (es)
  • (label) To desire; to want.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
    • I would not wish / Any companion in the world but you.
  • *
    • , 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)
    • This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for.
  • * 1901 , , (w, The Monkey's Paw)
    • 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."
  • To bestow (a thought or gesture) towards (someone or something).
  • * (William Shakespeare)
    • I would not wish them to a fairer death.
  • * Bible, (Psalms) xl. 14
    • Let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil.
  • To request or desire to do an activity.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
    • , title= 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.}}
  • (label) To recommend; to seek confidence or favour on behalf of.
  • * (Ben Jonson)
    • I was wished to your worship by a gentleman.

    Usage notes

    * In sense 3, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See

    Derived terms

    (Terms derived from the verb "wish") * as you wish * half wish * I wish * unwish * well-wisher * wisher * you wish

    Statistics

    * 1000 English basic words English control verbs English terms with homophones English transitive verbs

    thought

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l) (archaic)

    Noun

    (wikipedia thought) (en noun)
  • Form created in the mind, rather than the forms perceived through the five senses; an instance of thinking.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts , and I by others not less disturbing.}}
  • * , chapter=5
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts .}}
  • (uncountable) The process by which such forms arise or are manipulated; thinking.
  • * (Paul Fix)
    • The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it’s unfamiliar territory.
  • A way of thinking (associated with a group, nation or region).

    • Derived terms

    * afterthought * collect one's thoughts * gather one's thoughts * food for thought * on second thoughts * perish the thought * thoughtful * thought leader * thoughtless * thought shower * thoughtlet

    Verb

    (head)
  • (think)