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wishful thinking
noun
- 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.
wishful thinking
noun
- the erroneous belief that one's wishes are in accordance with reality
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Derived Forms
- wishful thinker, noun
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Other Words From
- wishful thinker noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of wishful thinking1
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Idioms and Phrases
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.Discover More
Example Sentences
Our quest for better leaders—“Change we can believe in”— is wishful thinking.
Dear White People is a conversation about racism not buried under wishful thinking.
But the idea he is going to attract droves of non-traditional Republican supporters is nothing more than wishful thinking.
Sometimes the wishful thinking was done by well-known individuals—the Dalai Lama and Ralph Bunche.
At least 65 Peace Prizes have been awarded for wishful thinking.
This impression was generally discredited, people were surfeited with optimism; they felt our reports were wishful thinking.
This is contrasted to happenstance decision making based on impulsiveness and wishful thinking.
Subconsciously he knew that this, at the very best, was wishful thinking.
However, for the present, it was just so much wishful thinking as far as Dawson was concerned.
It's wishful thinking and we cannot permit such daydreaming in our precarious condition.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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