Need and Wish for

Related terms

Need verb - To have as a requirement.

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Wish for and need are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Wish for" instead a verb "Need".

Nearby Words: needed, needs, needy, needless, needful

Wish for verb - To have an earnest wish to own or enjoy.

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Need and wish for are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Need" instead a verb "Wish for".

Gods Need Prayer Badly: Clunea doesn't like that people that come to her don't wish for anything and demand her to do what they want instead.

Source: Video Game / Unchained Blades
But "want" originally meant "lack" or "need"; the modern meaning of "desire" or "to wish for" didn't arise until the 19th century.

Source: Have A Gay Old Time / Literature
Mentioned in the Art of Dying song "Completely"; the lead-in line to the chorus in (both versions) is "watch what you wish for, you know you just might get it..." In the original, there is a line in the chorus about how "everything you want/ain't always what you need..."

Source: Be Careful What You Wish For

Cite this Source

Wish for and Need. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 03, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/need/wish_for

Need & Wish for. N.p., 2016. Web. 03 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/need/wish_for>.

Wish for or Need. 2016. Accessed August 03, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/need/wish_for.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "need" and "wish for" have occurred on timeline