hope vs itch

hope

verb
  • To want something to happen, with a sense of expectation that it might. 

  • To wish. 

  • To place confidence; to trust with confident expectation of good; usually followed by in. 

  • To be optimistic; be full of hope; have hopes. 

noun
  • A sloping plain between mountain ridges. 

  • A small bay; an inlet; a haven. 

  • A hollow; a valley, especially the upper end of a narrow mountain valley when it is nearly encircled by smooth, green slopes; a combe. 

  • The virtuous desire for future good. 

  • The feeling of trust, confidence, belief or expectation that something wished for can or will happen. 

  • The actual thing wished for. 

  • A person or thing that is a source of hope. 

itch

verb
  • To have a constant, teasing urge; to feel strongly motivated; to want or desire something. 

  • To scratch or rub so as to relieve an itch. 

  • To feel itchy; to feel a need to be scratched. 

  • To cause to feel an itch. 

noun
  • A constant teasing desire or want. 

  • A sensation felt on an area of the skin that causes a person or animal to want to scratch said area. 

How often have the words hope and itch occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )