wistful

adjective wist·ful \ ˈwist-fəl \

|Updated on: 22 Jul 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

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wistfully

play \ˈwist-fə-lē\ adverb

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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

The letter’s tone is more wistful than hostile, reading almost like a breakup note.

— zack beauchamp, Vox, "Read: Trump’s letter to Kim Jong Un canceling the North Korea summit," 24 May 2018
Holding it all together is his voice-over narration: always intelligent and thoughtful, sometimes wistful, occasionally navel-gazing annoying.

— mark feeney, BostonGlobe.com, "Looking back on the upheaval of the ’60s," 15 May 2018
The passage of a decade allows for humorous perspective, too, as the characters are now more observers, sometimes wistful, of hip New York culture, rather than central players.

— bill keveney, USA TODAY, "Why familiar friends make TV's remake obsession less annoying," 24 Apr. 2018
The sound is classic Britpop, from the wistful pining of the vocals to a bassline that echoes the mid-‘60s Kinks. 1.

— ed masley, azcentral, "Best World Cup songs of all time, from Ricky Martin and Shakira to 'Three Lions'," 27 June 2018
This triggered some wistful reminiscing from his dad, and gave me some really great insight into the family and their situation.

— andrew webster, The Verge, "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit has me so excited for Life is Strange 2," 26 June 2018
Buy Photo Amid songs and signs, with cheers, jeers and wistful words, the School Reform Commission took its final public actions Thursday night, capping 17 tumultuous years of governing the Philadelphia School District.

— Philly.com, "6,019 days after the SRC first convened, a final meeting," 21 June 2018
Jack Hickey in particular brings a touching wistful air to his performance as the family’s eccentric, carefree patriarch.

— jack helbig, Chicago Reader, "Oak Park Festival Theatre uncovers hidden depths in You Can’t Take It With You," 21 June 2018
O’Connor, who is in her 30s and works at the Linda Pace Foundation, arrives at them from a more wistful perspective.

— molly glentzer, San Antonio Express-News, "Kelly O’Connor’s art dives into a glitzy past," 14 June 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