only wish/want/hope
idiom
—used to stress that someone's wishing/wanting/hoping something is the simple truth
He only wished she'd told him sooner.
I only wish I knew what was going on.
He only wanted to help.
I only hope she can get over this.
Examples of only wish/want/hope in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Image What Trump had to offer in this context, and really his only hope, was not moving on.
—
Charles Homans Robert Petkoff Anna Diamond Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2024
But Jones, who lives in London and has a generous smile, wasn’t accustomed to the circus of online dating: maneuvering fake profiles, encountering people who only want to swap photos and never meet.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 22 Apr. 2024
Computer scientists, ordinary Americans, and the intelligence and defense communities can only hope our officials rethink their proposal.
—Jungsang Kim, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
The men could only hope to emulate the drama of the perfect women’s matchup.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2024
Human beings crash through nature, break it apart and leave it in ruins, just to make supper by 6 p.m.
Your only hope of keeping the agony of this realization at bay is to endeavor to be gentler and better in the tiny scope of things under your control.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The Wildcats can only hope that history repeats itself, that the fourth time proves to be the charm, once again.
—Glenn Reeves, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024
The only hope is to have a home with a few animals in some place not worth a bomb.
—Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
That left an automatic bid as their only hope: To earn a March Madness berth, N.C.
—Becky Sullivan, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
Charles Homans Robert Petkoff Anna Diamond Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2024
But Jones, who lives in London and has a generous smile, wasn’t accustomed to the circus of online dating: maneuvering fake profiles, encountering people who only want to swap photos and never meet.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 22 Apr. 2024
Computer scientists, ordinary Americans, and the intelligence and defense communities can only hope our officials rethink their proposal.
—Jungsang Kim, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
The men could only hope to emulate the drama of the perfect women’s matchup.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2024
Human beings crash through nature, break it apart and leave it in ruins, just to make supper by 6 p.m.
Your only hope of keeping the agony of this realization at bay is to endeavor to be gentler and better in the tiny scope of things under your control.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The Wildcats can only hope that history repeats itself, that the fourth time proves to be the charm, once again.
—Glenn Reeves, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024
The only hope is to have a home with a few animals in some place not worth a bomb.
—Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
That left an automatic bid as their only hope: To earn a March Madness berth, N.C.
—Becky Sullivan, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'only wish/want/hope.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near only wish/want/hope
Cite this Entry
“Only wish/want/hope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/only%20wish%2Fwant%2Fhope. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
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