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

See Examples For:

wishful thinking

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

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 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

Maybe it’s idealist and naive, or apple-pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, but I believe that they can win.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026

The strangeness of “Ghost-Eye” will keep readers on their toes, but the book’s earnest, scientific framework makes it seem like an elaborate exercise in wishful thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

“Lord, may our dinner be filling to our minds, bodies, and souls,” Hilda said, which sounded to me less like a blessing and more like wishful thinking.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz