adjective

wistful

WIST-ful/ˈwɪstfl/

Feeling quiet sadness and longing for something.

The wistful man studies his friend's empty place beside the shared photograph.

A young man sits alone on one end of a park bench, holding a photograph of himself and his friend laughing together on that same bench.

Etymology

Wistful may come from obsolete wistly, “intently,” but that connection and wistly’s own origin are uncertain. The established sense of longing pensiveness describes thought colored by yearning.

In context

Wandering Mind0:02

That kind of warm, maybe a little wistful pull towards the past, nostalgia. Mhm. It's pretty universal. Yeah. Sometimes it feels really comforting, like a warm blanket, but other times maybe a bit sad

Why do we feel nostalgic? How Learning Helps Us Let Go 🎧

More examples

He gives a wistful smile when someone mentions his hometown.
Rainy afternoons make me wistful for summers at the lake.
There is a wistful tone in her voice as she describes the trip she never took.

Forms

wistful

wistfully adverb — With quiet sadness and longing.

wistfulness noun — A feeling of quiet sadness and longing.

Similar words

nostalgic: Specifically longs for the past, rather than anything desired.
melancholy: Emphasizes lingering sadness without necessarily including longing for something.