The Meaning of Hoping: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the definition of hoping? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word hope, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What does the word hoping mean?

According to Collins English Dictionary, American Heritage and the opinion of Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word hoping is the present progressive tense of the verb hope. The word hope is a transitive verb meaning to want, expect, or wish for. The pronunciation of hope is həʊp. This word is used in both British English and American English.

There are many different words that also mean hoping in other languages. You may notice that many of these words look and sound similar. These are called cognates, which are usually formed when two words have the same language of origin or root, such as Latin or Greek. This list of translations of hope is provided by Word Sense

  •  Persian: امیدوار بودن‎ (omidvâr budan)
  •  Danish: håbe‎
  •  Czech: doufat‎ (impf)
  •  Ido: esperar‎
  •  Telugu: ఆశించు‎
  •  Macedonian: надева‎ (impf)
  •  Mirandese: sperar‎
  •  Belarusian: спадзявацца‎, паспадзявацца‎ (paspadzjavácca)
  •  Hebrew: קיווה‎ (kivá)
  •  Romansch: sperar‎, sperer‎
  •  Occitan: esperar‎
  •  Icelandic: vona‎, gera sér vonir um‎
  •  Egyptian Arabic: اتمنى‎ (atmanā)
  •  Swedish: hoppas‎
  •  Romanian: spera‎, nădăjdui‎
  •  Latvian: cerēt‎
  •  Sardinian: isperai‎, isperare‎, sperai‎
  •  Old Dutch: hopon‎, hopan‎
  •  Latin: spērō‎
  •  Indonesian: harap‎, berharap‎
  •  Welsh: gobeithio‎
  •  Uzbek: umid qilmoq‎
  •  Thai: หวัง‎ (wăng), คาดหวัง‎ (kâat wăng)
  •  Korean: 바라다‎, 원하다‎
  •  Kazakh: дәмелену‎, сену‎, үміттену‎
  •  Esperanto: esperi‎
  •  Tagalog: asa‎, pag-asa‎, umasa‎, asahan‎
  •  German: hoffen‎
  •  Elfdalian: oppas‎, uppas‎
  •  Estonian: lootma‎
  •  Old English: hopian‎
  •  Vietnamese: hy vọng‎ (希望‎)
  •  Turkish: ummak‎, umut etmek‎, ümit etmek‎
  •  Luxembourgish: hoffen‎
  •  Old Frisian: hopia‎
  •  Georgian: იმედოვნება‎
  •  Turkmen: umyt etmek‎, tama etmek‎
  •  Tajik: умедвор будан‎, умед доштан‎
  •  Malay: harap‎, berharap‎
  •  Hungarian: remél‎
  •  Arabic: أَمَلَ‎, imperfect: يَأْمِلُ‎, تَمَنَّى‎, imperfect: يَتَمَنَّى‎, رَجَا‎
  •  Russian: наде́яться‎ (impf), упова́ть‎ (impf)
  •  Bulgarian: надявам се‎
  •  Swahili: tumaini‎
  •  Interlingua: sperar‎
  •  French: espérer‎
  •  Catalan: esperar‎
  •  Novial: espera‎
  •  Portuguese: esperar‎
  •  Urdu: امید کرنا‎ (ummīd karnā)
  •  Albanian: shpreson‎
  •  Norman: espéther‎
  •  Old Saxon: hopon‎
  •  Slovene: upati‎ (impf)
  •  Khmer: សង្ឃឹម‎ (sɑngkʰɨm)
  •  Lao: ຫວັງ‎
  •  Dutch: hopen‎
  •  Italian: sperare‎
  •   Yiddish: האָפֿן‎ (hofn)
  •  Japanese: 希望‎, 望む‎ (のぞむ, nozomu)
  •  Burmese: ရည်‎, မျှော်‎, ထင်စား‎
  •  Scottish Gaelic: dòchas‎ (masc.)
  •  Irish: bí ag súil‎, bí i ndóchas‎
  •  Armenian: հուսալ‎
  •  Polish: mieć nadzieję‎ (impf), spodziewać się‎ (impf)
  •  Galician: esperar‎
  •  Hindi: आशा करना‎ (āśā karnā)
  •  Ukrainian: надіятися‎, сподіватися‎, уповати‎
  •  Spanish: esperar‎
  •  Finnish: toivoa‎
  •  Kyrgyz: үмүт кылуу‎, ишенүү‎, эш кылуу‎
  •  Afrikaans: hoop‎
  •  Asturian: esperar‎
  •  West Frisian: hoopje‎
  •  Sinhalese: බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා‎
  •  Friulian: sperâ‎
  •  Mandarin: 希望‎ (xīwàng)
  •  Slovak: dúfať‎ (impf)
  •  Cyrillic: надати‎, уфати‎
  •  Maltese: jittama‎
  •  Faroese: vóna‎, hopa‎
  •  Norwegian: håpe‎
  •  Azeri: ümid etmək‎
  •  Bengali: আশা করা‎ (asha kôra)
  •  Roman: nadati‎, ufati‎
  •  Lithuanian: trokšti‎, viltis‎, tikėtis‎
  •  Greek: ελπίζω‎

There are also many terms derived from the word hope:

  •  great white hope
  •  hopeless
  •  hoper
  •  hopenosis
  •  hope chest
  •  hopeful
  •  Cape of Good Hope
  •  hope against hope
  •  wanhope
  •  hope springs eternal
  •  hopeium
  •  unhope
  •  no-hoper
  •  overhope
  •  have one’s hope dashed
  •  hope danceth
  •  ray of hope
  •  last hope
  •  abandon hope
  •  high hopes
  •  forlorn hope

What is the word origin of the word hoping?

According to Etymonline, the current usage of the word hope (hoʊp) comes from the Old English hopian and Old English hopa. This is of unknown origin, but is seen in similar usage in North sea Germanic Language such as Old Frisian hope and hopia, Middle Low German hopen, Middle Dutch hopen, Dutch hoop, and Middle High German hoffen. This has been used since early c13 to mean to wish for or desire something. One can add the suffixes ed and ing to form the tenses hoped and hoping. One can also add the suffix ful to create the related word hopeful. 

What are synonyms and antonyms of hoping?

There are many different words and phrases that one can use in place of the term hope. These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same meaning as another word or phrase. Synonyms are very useful to know if you want to avoid repeating yourself as well as if you are looking to expand your vocabulary. The below list of synonyms for the word hope is provided by Thesaurus.

  •  feel confident
  •  sweat it out
  •  sweat
  •  take heart
  •  deem likely
  •  look forward to
  •  sweat it
  •  contemplate
  •  watch for
  •  expect
  •  hold
  •  foresee
  •  knock on wood
  •  be sure of
  •  aspire
  •  suppose
  •  think to
  •  believe
  •  pray
  •  promise oneself
  •  assume
  •  count on
  •  desire
  •  rely
  •  depend on
  •  hang in
  •  surmise
  •  suspect
  •  wish
  •  anticipate
  •  keep fingers crossed
  •  incentive
  •  cherish
  •  await
  •  look at sunny side
  •  trust
  •  have faith
  •  presume

There are also many different words and phrases that a person can use that are the opposite of the word hope, which are called antonyms. Opposite words are also very useful to know if you are looking to expand your English language and grammar knowledge, or if you are looking to grow your vocabulary. This list of antonyms for the word hope is also provided by Thesaurus.

  •  demur
  •  misdoubt
  •  waver
  •  query
  •  vacillate
  •  be undetermined
  •  give no credence
  •  be dubious
  •  harbor suspicion
  •  fluctuate
  •  mistrust
  •  dispute
  •  skepticize
  •  misgive
  •  surmise
  •  take dim view of
  •  imagine
  •  impugn
  •  disbelieve
  •  scruple
  •  be apprehensive of
  •  challenge
  •  wonder at
  •  not buy
  •  smell a rat
  •  call in question
  •  be in a quandary
  •  shilly-shally
  •  read differently
  •  insinuate
  •  have qualms
  •  discredit
  •  be uncertain
  •  be curious
  •  hesitate
  •  doubt
  •  be puzzled
  •  suspect
  •  fear
  •  distrust

How can hoping be used in a sentence?

The word hope can be used in many different ways in the English language. Below are several examples of hoping.

While there was little hope of his recovery, he tried to have faith in medicine and listen to the survivors before him to find the strength to beat the disease. Despite the grim reality, John’s surgery Tuesday was a success and physicians were pleased at the result of the effective vaccine. 

The fourth-round rookie, Saahdiq Charles, played two snaps this season. He was drafted hoping he could compete for the left tackle job.

The scientists had hope in the recent examples of the member of a meteor shower from the constellation Leo and ended up finding unprecedented scientific success as part of an effort working together in June.

At the start of this school year at Princeton Univeristy, I had hope that various online news sources like the Washington Post and Sunday Times would begin publishing my work in the latest news. It had at least hoped for feedback. However, by November, I had gotten zero traction.

The US comedian and comic actor Leonid Bing hoped that his sensitive content would not be offensive to his fans in England and Morocco. He had constant hope that he could at least earn their forgiveness.

I hoped to gain access to the newsletter for exclusive updates on my favorite band Paleface Canary and their new album, Bad Supper. I went down a Google spiral trying to find any information. 

I hoped for a good breakfast after my bad supper.

Overall, the word hoping means

Sources:

  1. hope: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  2. HOPE Synonyms: 100 Synonyms & Antonyms for HOPE | Thesaurus 
  3. DOUBT Synonyms: 103 Synonyms & Antonyms for DOUBT | Thesaurus 
  4. hope | Origin and meaning of hope | Online Etymology Dictionary 
  5. Hope definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary