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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Throw in a four-part Thanksgiving, a wistful look at Lorelai's (Lauren Graham) past, and one tear-jerking valedictorian speech (even Luke cries!), and season 3 is easily the greatest. EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025 After his reelection, in another interview with TIME, Trump appeared to be somewhat wistful that his last campaign was, seemingly, behind him. Chad De Guzman, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025 Writer/director Joshua Woodcock’s romantic charmer is both wistful and sweet. Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2025 The second intermezzo had the underlying character of a waltz, both less wistful and more playful than the first. Brandon Taylor, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wistful

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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Cite this Entry

“Wistful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wistful. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on wistful

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