wistful

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

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

To be sure, this type of nostalgia and wistful reflection speaks to a real-life community that often doesn’t get exposure on TV, which is part of the reason this series gets such stellar (confoundingly so, to some critics) ratings. —Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024

The Home for Retired Bears, benignly administered by the musical nuns, resembles an island gentlemen’s club in early Bond movies: think cane furniture, the wistful whiff of Empire and a faintly sinister air. —Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2024

There’s something searching and wistful about this movie; it couldn’t have been made by a young person. —Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024

Neither damning nor satiric, W. is oddly wistful, almost regretful — rare sentiments in a Stone film. —Will Leitch, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

blend of wishful and obsolete English wistly intently

First Known Use

1714, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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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