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

Etymology

Origin of wishful thinking

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

“This is not just our wishful thinking, it is what we hear from our customers.”

From Barron's • May 8, 2026

When governments and their advisers are, as matter of course, using AI to improve their decision-making, expect fewer purblind, tunnel-visioned strategic decisions based on wishful thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

It was confusion, or maybe wishful thinking, or was it outright defiance?

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

There’s a fair bit of analysis suggesting the whole thing may be more wishful thinking than a useful tool to time your investing.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 16, 2026

My CIA training overrode my wishful thinking," Howard said, "and I also recalled one of James Bond's maxims: 'Once is coincidence.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau