hope deferred makes the heart sick

hope deferred makes the heart sick

proverb Waiting for something that one wants can cause distress. The full Biblical phrase is "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." A: "Rachel has been so anxious ever since the other kids in her class started hearing back from the colleges they applied to." B: "I'm not surprised—hope deferred makes the heart sick."
See also: heart, hope, make, sick
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

 and Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.
Prov. If you have to wait a long time for something you want, you will become despairing. (Biblical.) Charlie waited so long for the woman he loved that he decided he didn't want to love anybody. Hope deferred makes the heart sick.
See also: heart, hope, make, sick
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • maketh
  • teach a man to fish
  • the best-laid plans
  • the best-laid plans go astray
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men
  • best-laid plans go astray, the
  • it takes a village
  • village
  • a little knowledge is a dangerous thing
  • a little learning is a dangerous thing
References in periodicals archive
But as the good book says in Proverbs 13:12: 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick.' As the honourable minister himself noted while speaking at the ceremony, some members of that team who should have been beneficiaries of a largesse that the Federal Government voluntarily announced, have since passed to the great beyond.
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'Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life' Proverbs13:12
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He said, though a hope deferred makes the heart sick, according to the Scriptures, still, he said, at the appointed time, if not living in doubt, God will fulfill His words.
Don't pray alone, act in faith to receive from God, Rev Raphael charges Christiansa!