wistfulness

American

[wist-fuhl-nis] / ˈwɪst fəl nɪs /

noun

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

Derived Forms

unwistfulness

noun

Etymology

Origin of wistfulness

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Omid, whose English surpasses Marjan’s own level, has excited such hopes, and the touchingly Chekhovian quasi-romance between them adds a gentle note of amorous wistfulness.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

Amid the rebuke, brands have recoiled back within the antiseptic neutrality where they’re most comfortable: irrelevant celebrity cameos, cheap millennial nostalgia, unmoored wistfulness for simpler days.

From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026

All of the romance and wistfulness of the concert can’t undo years of heartbreak and resentment.

From Salon • Feb. 5, 2026

When we got home three months later, though, I was surprised by the waves of wistfulness about what I wasn’t coming back to—the sense of accomplishment and purpose and identity, the newsroom camaraderie, the paycheck.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

He must have caught the wistfulness in my smile, because he stopped chuckling, studied my expression, and said, “Vinye, why are you asking me all these questions?”

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023