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wistful

[ wist-fuhl ]

/ ˈwɪst fəl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR wistful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

characterized by melancholy; longing; yearning.

pensive, especially in a melancholy way.

Origin of wistful

1605–15; obsolete wist quiet, silent, attentive (variant of whist²) + -ful

SYNONYMS FOR wistful

2 reflective, musing, meditative, forlorn.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR wistful ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM wistful

wist·ful·ly, adverb wist·ful·ness, noun un·wist·ful, adjective un·wist·ful·ly, adverb

un·wist·ful·ness, noun

Words nearby wistful

wissler, wissler's syndrome, wist, wister, wisteria, wistful, wisła, wit, witan, witblits, witch

Example sentences from the Web for wistfully

“It was a magical feeling, leaving daylight to sneak into a theater,” he says wistfully.

Can Condon's Freak Show Win Broadway? |Tim Teeman |November 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Years later, John Lewis recalled to me wistfully: “There was so much optimism, so much hope.”

“So Much Hope”: A Reporter Remembers the March on Washington |Hedrick Smith |August 27, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Throughout, these weighty matters are examined candidly and wistfully, with the wisdom that only age and inwardness can bring.

The Art of Digital Correspondence |Matthew Walther |May 12, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
(1.2.35–38) This wistfully fluid elasticity of self is a great challenge for an actor.

The Old Man and the Sea |David Farr |April 9, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

She wistfully wondered aloud to me last year if she had made the right decision.

Inside the Salahi Split |Diane Dimond |September 16, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
She looked at him wistfully, as if he might perhaps explain; but Vernon said nothing.

Nell, of Shorne Mills |Charles Garvice
Mr. Dill looked at him wistfully as he stood on one foot curling his purple toes around the other knee.

The Man from the Bitter Roots |Caroline Lockhart
And Margaret rose without a word; but her beautiful eyes rested on Erle a moment, wistfully, as though to bid him to be patient.

Wee Wifie |Rosa Nouchette Carey
He said it calmly, wistfully: and, pausing for a moment, met the priest's eyes.

Fort Amity |Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
"I wish I was sure I knew the spelling," she said wistfully.

A Little Girl in Old Boston |Amanda Millie Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for wistfully

wistful

/ (ˈwɪstfʊl) /

adjective

sadly pensive, esp about something yearned for

Derived forms of wistful

wistfully, adverb wistfulness, noun