wishful thinking

American  

noun

1. interpretation of facts, actions, words, etc., as one would like them to be rather than as they really are; imagining as actual what is not.

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wishful thinking British  

noun

1. the erroneous belief that one's wishes are in accordance with reality

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wishful thinking Idioms  

1. Interpreting matters as one would like them to be, as opposed to what they really are. For example, Matthew wanted to be a basketball player, but with his height that was wishful thinking. This term comes from Freudian psychology of the mid-1920s and soon began to be used more loosely.

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Other Word Forms

• wishful thinker
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of wishful thinking

First recorded in 1925–30

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wishful thinking

"Hope is not the same thing as wishful thinking," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

There have always been overeager people who, through either extreme wishful thinking or some quirk of brain chemistry, have come to believe that science fiction hides secret messages or covers up for real events.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

Others tracking sports-rights deals counter that such a price tag is wishful thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Nor is that wishful thinking: “With the launch of its GLM-5.2 model, Z.ai has mounted the most impressive Chinese challenge yet to US dominance in artificial intelligence,” writes Gavekal Research analyst Will Denyer.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Mere wishful thinking, Farmer declared, basically telling his audience they didn’t know as much about MDR as he and PIH did.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

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