wistfulness

[wist-fuhl-nis]

noun

1. a mental state or emotion characterized by melancholy, longing, or pensiveness, or an instance of this.

   The film’s visuals occasionally aspire to the dark contours of a graphic novel, and, at other times, evoke the wistfulness of a watercolor painting.

   It's an extreme novel that conveys its dark message with heart and many moments of wistfulness.

Other Word Forms

• unwistfulness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wistfulness¹

wistful ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

Schneider said he and many of those active in the Yiddish scene are alive to the "danger of becoming really wrapped in a ball of nostalgia and wistfulness".

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The sound instantly evokes a touch of wistfulness for the Obama era, when times were just as uncertain.

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After agreeing on a plant palette that included lots of color, wistfulness, texture and tall grasses, the couple hired a landscape contractor to remove their lawn by hand.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A photograph is a record of the past from the moment the shutter snaps, which lends the medium a bit of wistfulness.

Read more on New York Times

The lyrics for “It’s Too Late” captured the wistfulness, but also the clarity, of a love affair that has run its course.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• boredom 
• despair 
• desperation 
• despondency 
• ennui 
• gloom 
• grief 
• sorrow