wistful

adjective

wist·​ful ˈwist-fəl How to pronounce wistful (audio)
1
: full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy
also : inspiring such yearning
a wistful memoir
2
: musingly sad : pensive
a wistful glance
wistfully adverb
wistfulness noun

Did you know?

Wistful Has a Wishful History

We see you there, dear reader, gazing silently up at the moon, heart aching to know the history of wistful, as if it could be divined on the lunar surface. And we’d like to ease your melancholy by telling you that the knowledge you seek—nay, pine for—is closer at hand. But the etymology of wistful, while intriguing, is not entirely clear. It’s thought that the word is a combination of wistly, a now-obsolete word meaning “intently” and, perhaps, the similar-sounding wishful. Wistly, in turn, may have come from whistly, an old term meaning “silently” or “quietly.” What’s more certain is that our modern wistful is a great word to describe someone full of pensive yearning, or something inspiring such yearning.

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 on the Web The 26-year-old noise pop musician’s set had all the wistful brokenness and emotional devastation that defined their triumphant 2023 album, Softscars. Isabelia Herrera, Pitchfork, 19 Mar. 2024 Editors’ Picks With this music, the lens is focused on a specific time, one that seems personal to Peck, whose quest for nirvana — not the Nirvana of the ’90s, but the wistful blissing out of the aughts — frequently lands him in a place of overflowing emotion. Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 As a result, the interviews have a more contemplative, reverent, and wistful tone than those in the filmmaker’s other musical projects. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2024 At recent studio visits, more than one industry name alluded to her convention-busting decision with a wistful tone in their voice. Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2024 The vibe seems misty and wistful, although a gallery note characterizes it as tragic. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 Frank dialogue and silence mingle on-screen, accomplishing a wistful rendition of Roca’s broadly engaging work. Holly Jones, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 Photo: Shutterstock Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield bring wistful melancholy to the parts of three young adults who met at a sinister boarding school in Mark Romanek’s dystopian tearjerker. Radhika Seth, Vogue, 3 Mar. 2024 Suffused with deconstructed production elements, slow-grooving bass lines and distorted background vocals filling the backend like a chorus of ghostly past lovers, Wilson commands your attention with a wistful vocal, resonating with soul-shaking emotion on every single note. Stephen Daw, Billboard, 23 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wistful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

blend of wishful and obsolete English wistly intently

First Known Use

1714, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wistful was in 1714

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Dictionary Entries Near wistful

Cite this Entry

“Wistful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wistful. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wistful

adjective
wist·​ful ˈwist-fəl How to pronounce wistful (audio)
: feeling or showing a timid desire
a wistful look on his face
wistfully adverb
wistfulness noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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