wistful
adjective/ˈwɪstfl/
/ˈwɪstfl/
- thinking sadly about something that you would like to have, especially something in the past that you can no longer have
- a wistful smile
- There was something rather wistful about the sad little tune.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryWistful is used with these nouns:- expression
- longing
- nostalgia
- …
Word Originearly 17th cent.: apparently from obsolete wistly ‘intently’, influenced by wishful.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
wistful