wished

Wished is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb wish. It expresses a desire or hope that something would happen or that a situation would be different, and it can refer to desires at a point in the past or to events recounted in a narrative.

In standard usage, wished is followed by a that-clause, for example: "She wished that the train would arrive on time." It can also take a for-phrase: "They wished for good weather." To describe a past, unfulfilled desire, one can say, "I wished I could stay longer." The construction with would often expresses a desire directed at another person: "I wish you would come."

Wished can also appear as the past participle in perfect tenses, as in "I have wished for peace," where the sense is a completed or repeated desire over time. In modern English, the verb is regular, forming the past tense and past participle with the usual -ed ending.

As an adjective, wished is commonly found in hyphenated forms such as "a wished-for outcome" or "the much-wished-for feature," used to describe something that has been desired or anticipated.

Usage notes: wished conveys reflection on past desires and is widely used in everyday language, storytelling, and formal writing. It contrasts with "wish" in the present tense, which typically expresses current or future desires, and with "would" as a helper verb in expressing requests or preferences.