Definition of wishful
2
:according with wishes rather than reality
- wishful dreams
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Examples of wishful in a Sentence
her wishful attempts to change her husband's bad habits
Recent Examples of wishful from the Web
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But that may be little more than wishful thinking on Fox's part.
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Of course, that hasn’t stopped people in Washington—for reasons of both wishful thinking and contingency planning—from laying the groundwork for a Pence presidency.
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This is wishful fantasy, as many of the film's skeptics have noted.
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Unfortunately, believing that generic drugs are a key to better and lower-cost health care is wishful thinking, and ignores the impact of generics on the U.S. health care system and the behavior of pharmaceutical companies.
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Immigrating to Canada takes more than wishful thinking.
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From the outside looking in, anyway, the idea was audacious and more wishful than realistic.
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The veteran hasn’t been a top-tier pitcher since 2014, so expecting any meaningful contribution at this point is wishful thinking.
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But the comparison of Chandler and Curry to Pippen and Grant was wishful thinking at best.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wishful.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of wishful
1593
WISHFUL Defined for English Language Learners
wishful
play
adjective
Definition of wishful for English Language Learners
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: showing a belief that something will happen or succeed even though it is not likely to happen or succeed
WISHFUL Defined for Kids
wishful
play
adjective
wish·ful
\
ˈwish-fəl
\
Definition of wishful for Students
:having, showing, or based on a wish
Learn More about wishful
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Spanish Central: Translation of wishful Nglish: Translation of wishful for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of wishful for Arabic speakers
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