wistful Hear it!

wistful definition

wist·ful (wist′fəl)

adjective

showing or expressing vague yearnings; longing pensively

Etymology: altered (modeled on wishful) < earlier wistly, attentive

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

wistful Synonyms

wistful

modif.

nostalgic, melancholy, sad, longing, yearning, pensive, wishful, hopeless, half-expectant, soulful, plaintive.

Antonyms happy*, joyous*, exuberant.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

wistful Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • yearning: They are used to communicate a timeless message, often achieving a wistful, yearning and powerful insight through extreme brevity.

Modifying Another Word

  • rather: The impression conveyed was of a rather wistful solitude rather like the mood at the beginning of the recent Narnia movie.

Used with adjective complement

  • look: You know where to find me if you do.â I smile weakly at her and hope it doesn't look too wistful.
wistful usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"wistful." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/wistful>

APA Style

wistful. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/wistful

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment