Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wishful

/ˈwɪʃfəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.11 in modern English

Syllables: wish-ful
IPA: /ˈwɪʃfəl/

16

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Wished-for; desired, wanted.

Obsolete

adj

Expressing a wish or longing for something.

adj

Aspiring, or seeking advancement.

Example Sentences

"The cry whereof entring the hollow cave / Eftsoones brought forth the villaine, as they ment, / With hope of her some wishfull boot to have."
"When she weighed anchor I went to the waterside and looked at her with a very wishful and aching heart, and followed her with my eyes and tears until she was totally out of sight."

Etymology

From wish + -ful.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: wish

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈwɪʃfəl/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

more wishful (comparative) most wishful (superlative)

Derived Forms

unwishful wishfully wishfulness

Phrases

wishful hoping wishful recycling wishful thinker wishful thinking wishful thought

Synonyms

aspirant aspiring desirous

Rhymes With

fishful

Questions

How do you pronounce wishful?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwɪʃfəl/.
What does wishful mean?: Wished-for; desired, wanted.
Where does wishful come from?: From wish + -ful.

How to pronounce wishful

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wishful”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwɪʃfəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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