wistful

adjective wist·ful \ ˈwist-fəl \

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Examples: wistful in a Sentence

Editor's Note: wistful Has a Wishful History

Definition of wistful

1 : full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy; also : inspiring such yearning

a wistful memoir

2 : musingly sad : pensive

a wistful glance

—

wistfully

play \ˈwist-fə-lē\ adverb

—

wistfulness

noun

See wistful defined for English-language learners

See wistful defined for kids

wistful was our Word of the Day on 11/26/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of wistful in a Sentence

She was wistful for a moment, then asked, “Do you remember the old playground?”.
He had a wistful look on his face.

Recent Examples of wistful from the Web

There is a wistful feeling about all of that this year as the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships begin today at the 99-year-old stadium.

— ken goe, OregonLive.com, "One more time for magic to happen in 'historic' Hayward Field: Oregon track & field rundown," 6 June 2018
The soundtrack draws heavily from the discography of Japanese indie band The Pillows, whose wistful brand of alt-rock underscores every climactic scene.

— stephen scaife, The Verge, "Cult favorite anime FLCL is back with new episodes — but 15 years later, the original still shines," 2 June 2018
Though the show’s wistful pull has diminished some as the reboot has worn on, NBC recently ordered two more seasons.

— richard lawson, HWD, "Why L.G.B.T.-Centered TV Is Stuck in the Past," 30 May 2018
This isn’t just the wistful nostalgia of Pat Boone or Wayne Newton from the Reagan era.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "Roseanne Barr and the new political correctness," 29 May 2018
Key for her—a mother of two who feels wistful about having left behind her career as an ocean scientist—is fitting research trips for her book into the rhythms of family life.

— christine ro, Outside Online, "Bringing Up Baby on the Road," 25 May 2018
Along the way are rowdy choir boys, a nosy Sacristan, a wistful shepherd boy, and a gallery of malevolent henchmen.

— david patrick stearns, Philly.com, "Love 'Tosca'? Philadelphia Orchestra's staging doesn't disappoint," 13 May 2018
The second single of his debut creates a hazy dreamscape where Sampha confronts his inner demons as his wistful vocals express apprehension in doing so.

— efrain dorado, RedEye Chicago, "Get your act together: 10 must-see artists at Lollapalooza," 31 July 2017
With a wise and wistful touch, Brinkley offers us a series of portraits of black men — New York City natives, all — who cannot square their desires with the demands of a culture that expects masculinity, self-sufficiency and confidence.

— brittany allen, Longreads, "Masters of Contradiction," 24 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wistful.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

wistful Has a Wishful History

Are you yearning to know the history of wistful? If so, we can ease your melancholy a little by telling you that wistful comes from a combination of wishful and wistly, a now obsolete word meaning "intently." We can't say with certainty where wistly came from, but it may have sprung from whistly, an old term meaning "silently" or "quietly." How did the supposed transition from a word meaning "quietly" to one meaning "intently" come about? That's something to muse about, but the answer isn't known.

Origin and Etymology of wistful

blend of wishful and obsolete English wistly intently

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1714

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

WISTFUL Defined for English Language Learners

wistful

adjective

Definition of wistful for English Language Learners

: having or showing sad thoughts and feelings about something that you want to have or do and especially about something that made you happy in the past