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definitions

wistful

[ wist-fuhl ]
/ ˈwɪst fəl /
||
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adjective

characterized by melancholy; longing; yearning.
pensive, especially in a melancholy way.

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RELATED WORDS

melancholy, sad, pensive, forlorn, nostalgic, thoughtful, dreamy, contemplative, mournful, plaintive, desirous, disconsolate, dreaming, hopeless, meditative, musing, reflective, wishful, yearning

Nearby words

  1. wist,
  2. wistaria,
  3. wister,
  4. wister, owen,
  5. wisteria,
  6. wistfully,
  7. wisła,
  8. wit,
  9. witan,
  10. witblits

Origin of wistful

1605–15; obsolete wist quiet, silent, attentive (variant of whist2) + -ful
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wistful

British Dictionary definitions for wistful

wistful

/ (ˈwɪstfʊl) /

adjective

sadly pensive, esp about something yearned for
Derived Formswistfully, adverbwistfulness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wistful

wistful

adj.

1610s, "closely attentive," from obsolete wist "intent" (c.1500), of uncertain origin. Perhaps formed on the model of wishful. The meaning of "yearningly eager" is first recorded 1714. Related: Wistfully; wistfulness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper