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 seductive rhetoric of Trump tariffs hides a combination of contradictions, wishful thinking, and superficial understanding of economics, which sells America a mirage and threatens to weaken the stability of the global trading system. —Devashish Mitra, Time, 28 July 2025

The project is on life support, kept alive only by wishful thinking and special interest demands. —Matt Fleming, Oc Register, 26 July 2025

But is that wishful thinking rather than real-world thinking? —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025

Somewhere between internet gossip and wishful thinking, the Sidney-as-Ghostface theory seems to have emerged around the time of 2000’s Scream 3, in which Sid’s PTSD has forced her to fully retreat from her former life. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wishful thinking

• interlinking
• blinking
• clinking
• drinking
• inking
• kinking
• linking
• shrinking
• sinking
• slinking
• stinking
• winking