Wistful Meaning
/ˈwɪstfəl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjFull of longing or yearning.
adjSad and thoughtful.
Sentence Examples
He has a wistful look on his face.
Her wistful smile belied the sadness she felt at having to leave.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He stared with a ____ expression at the old toy from his childhood.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He had a ____ look on his face as he remembered the happy days of his childhood in the small village today.
Word Origin & History
Presumably from *whistful, from whist (“silent”) + -ful, based on older wistly. It is implausible that it derives from wishful, the required sound change being wishful → *wisful → wistful, which could not occur in Modern English, particularly not with wishful continuing in use. However, the sense of “longing” appears to be influenced by wishful, making wistful an ambiguous poetic word.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Her grey eyes, looking out on the violet of the night sky, the trees, and the crowd of hilarious onlookers who had not been invited to Buckingham Palace, had a patient and wistful expression."
— 1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →OCLC, page 1:
"There are few sights that leave a railway lover more wistful than a desolate railway viaduct no longer carrying tracks. As with tunnels, so much effort was made to conquer the landscape, yet so many now stand forlorn."
— 2025 November 26, Tim Dunn, “Lost and found: historical assets”, in RAIL, number 1049, page 55:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He stared with a ____ expression at the old toy from his childhood.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He had a ____ look on his face as he remembered the happy days of his childhood in the small village today.