wistful

play

adjective wist·ful \ˈwist-fəl\

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

Part of me was a little wistful for the old amusement rides and motor courts, which had given way to swanky resorts and hip restaurants.

— valerie fraser luesse, Southern Living, "Panama City Beach Dreaming," 11 July 2017
The performer had just come off the Canadian leg of her RED tour, and—maybe feeling especially wistful toward the motherland—

— kenzie bryant, Vanities, "How Taylor Swift’s Fourth of July Party Became the Ultimate Symbol of Good, Clean, Famous Fun," 30 June 2017
Previously known as a visionary coach in possession of more championship rings than fingers, Jackson spent his return to Gotham reimagining himself as an aging grouch who waxed wistful for a more artful and earthbound game.

— michael powell, New York Times, "Zen Phil Is Gone, but All Is Not Lost for Knicks," 28 June 2017
ISTANBUL—On the glittering Bosporus strait, a boat outfitted to look like an old Damascus neighborhood offers Syrians living in Turkey a wistful taste of home.

— nour malas, WSJ, "Exiled by War, Syrians in Turkey Take Cruise Down Memory Lane," 26 June 2017
Quenneville also sounded wistful to be losing Hjalmarsson, one of the most reliable and durable players during the coach's tenure.

— chris hine, chicagotribune.com, "GM Stan Bowman's gamble on Connor Murphy huge for Blackhawks' future," 24 June 2017
U Remind Me, Usher (2001) A wistful summertime classic, Usher's earlier hit gets the nod for being a little more upbeat than Confessions Part II.

— maeve mcdermott, USA TODAY, "Ranked: Every 'song of the summer' from the past 20 years," 22 June 2017
U Remind Me, Usher (2001) A wistful summertime classic, Usher's earlier hit gets the nod for being a little more upbeat than Confessions Part II.

— maeve mcdermott, USA TODAY, "Ranked: Every 'song of the summer' from the past 20 years," 22 June 2017
Knapek, a Genoa native, seemed wistful that his brother Charlie, who also applied to be on the show, appeared to have a relationship that was blossoming faster than his own.

— tracy swartz, chicagotribune.com, "'Married at First Sight' couple brings drama to Lincoln Square bar," 15 June 2017

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

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First Known Use: 1714

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WISTFUL Defined for English Language Learners

wistful

play

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