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

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

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

A return to a new "golden era" is "wishful thinking," says Dr Yu Jie.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 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

That sounds suspiciously like wishful thinking, especially considering that 71,321 job losses were announced in November, taking the total to 1.17 million in 2025.

From Salon • Dec. 7, 2025

But if there is indeed an American image built of truth rather than reflecting either hostility or wishful thinking, what is this image?

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck