wishful thinking
noun
: the attribution of reality to what one wishes to be true or the tenuous justification of what one wants to believe
Examples of wishful thinking in a Sentence
The idea that the enemy will immediately surrender is nothing more than wishful thinking.
Recent Examples on the Web
The contrast with earlier failures suggests that success here stemmed from both the hard lessons of the past and the sheer visibility of Saddam’s buildup, which left little room for wishful thinking.
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Big Think, 20 Oct. 2025
Poetry brings hope, not an irrational optimism or wishful thinking, but a positive orientation to the future, of what a better, healthier future would look like.
—K.j.s. “sunny” Anand, Time, 15 Oct. 2025
Maybe this is wishful thinking from the Nebraska quarterback.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
There’s no wishful thinking that our society will stop idealizing appearance, but framing and intrinsic motivation matter.
—Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wishful thinking
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Big Think, 20 Oct. 2025
Poetry brings hope, not an irrational optimism or wishful thinking, but a positive orientation to the future, of what a better, healthier future would look like.
—K.j.s. “sunny” Anand, Time, 15 Oct. 2025
Maybe this is wishful thinking from the Nebraska quarterback.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
There’s no wishful thinking that our society will stop idealizing appearance, but framing and intrinsic motivation matter.
—Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wishful thinking
Cite this Entry
“Wishful thinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wishful%20thinking. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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