wistful

1 of 2

adjective

wist·​ful ˈwist-fəl 

1

: full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy

also : inspiring such yearning

a wistful memoir

2

: musingly sad : pensive

a wistful glance

wistfully

ˈwist-fə-lē 

adverb

wistfulness noun

wistfulness

2 of 2

noun

wist·​ful·​ness

plural -es

: the quality or state of being wistful

his eyes already had the exile's wistfulness

—Mollie Panter-Downes

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. The word wistful comes from wistly, a now-obsolete word meaning "intently," and the similar-sounding wishful. Wistly, in turn, likely comes from whist, an old term meaning "silent." 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

Adjective

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

Adjective

The clip’s melancholy vibes are only driven home by Karen O’s wistful vocals on the new song. — Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 12 Nov. 2026

This week, Skepta reclaims the grime throne with afrobeats star Asake at his side, Twisted Teens rock out on a skronky highlight from their third album this year, and Sufjan Stevens rings in the holiday season with a wistful original song. — Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2026

The wistful 18th-century folk ballad—all about taking the high road or the low road back to the country’s largest and arguably most romantic expanse of water—has cropped up everywhere from The Simpsons to, well, every Scottish wedding on earth. — Liam Hess, Vogue, 3 Nov. 2026

There were starkly arranged a cappella vocals, wistful singer-songwriter tunes for briskly contemplating the boy from last night, and a dance-floor track once intended for Madonna. — Jack Denton, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

blend of wishful and obsolete English wistly intently

First Known Use

Adjective

1714, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for wistful

• fistful

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Kids Definition

wistful

adjective

wist·​ful ˈwist-fəl 

: feeling or showing a timid desire

a wistful look on his face

wistfully

-fə-lē 

adverb

wistfulness noun