would

Meaning

Verb

1. (auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
2. (auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
3. (auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
4. (archaic, auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
5. (archaic, auxiliary) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
6. (auxiliary, obsolete) Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
7. (auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
8. (auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
9. (auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
10. (auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
11. (auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
12. (auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
13. (auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
14. (archaic, auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
15. (archaic, auxiliary) A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.

Noun

Something that would happen, or would be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.

Intj

Ellipsis of I would, used to denote that the speaker finds another person sexually attractive.

Synonyms

hypothetical

might

will

should

would have

soon

🔜

suppose

would that

shall

had

if only

ought

erstwhile

Translations

zouden

würde

Use the conjunctive mood

wollte

Use the conditional tense

Use the conditional tense

Use the conditional tense

istemek

por favor

vouloir

solere

volere

volli

veuillez

würden

Pronounced as (IPA)

/wʊd/

Etymology

Inherited from Old English: wolde

In summary

From Old English wolde, past tense of willan, predecessor of will.
The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in should and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).

Sentences

Why would I want to do that ?

I thought that everything I owned would be destroyed .

They would go out together dancing or to the opera or theatre .

Paul would be working in Nottingham .

How many slices would you like Santiago ?

We would prefer for your search to be carried out discreetly .