WISTFUL: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for WISTFUL?

Need another word that means the same as “wistful”? Find 5 synonyms and 30 related words for “wistful” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Wistful” are: pensive, regretful, nostalgic, yearning, longing

Wistful as an Adjective

Definitions of "Wistful" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “wistful” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Showing pensive sadness.
• Having or showing a feeling of vague or regretful longing.

Synonyms of "Wistful" as an adjective (5 Words)

longing	Having or showing a yearning desire. Her longing eyes.
nostalgic	Feeling, evoking, or characterized by nostalgia. He remained nostalgic about the good old days.
pensive	Showing pensive sadness. A pensive mood.
regretful	Feeling or showing regret. He sounded regretful but pointed out that he had committed himself.
yearning	Involving or expressing yearning. A yearning hope.

Usage Examples of "Wistful" as an adjective

• The sensitive and wistful response of a poet to the gentler phases of beauty.
• A wistful smile.

Associations of "Wistful" (30 Words)

bleak	(of a situation) not hopeful or encouraging; unlikely to have a favourable outcome. The bleak treeless regions of the high Andes.
blue	Blue color or pigment resembling the color of the clear sky in the daytime. Far out upon the blue were many sails.
cheerless	Causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy. The corridors were ill lit and cheerless.
contemplative	A person devoted to the contemplative life. Contemplative knowledge of God.
dejected	Sad and depressed; dispirited. Is dejected but trying to look cheerful.
depressed	(of a place or economic activity) suffering the damaging effects of a lack of demand or employment. Depressed by the loss of his job.
depression	A period during the 1930s when there was a worldwide economic depression and mass unemployment. Depression of the space bar on the typewriter.
despair	Abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart. One harsh word would send her into the depths of despair.
despondent	Without or almost without hope. Despondent about his failure.
dismal	(of a person or their mood) gloomy. His dismal mood was not dispelled by finding the house empty.
dreary	Causing dejection. The dreary round of working eating and trying to sleep.
elegiac	Verses in an elegiac metre. Haunting and elegiac poems.
elegy	(in modern literature) a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
gloom	Have a dark or sombre appearance. He strained his eyes peering into the gloom.
gloomy	Causing dejection. A gloomy corridor badly lit by oil lamps.
grim	Not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty. Grim laughter.
heartsick	Full of sorrow. Too heartsick to fight back.
hopeless	Without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success. He is a hopeless romantic.
lamentation	A cry of sorrow and grief. Scenes of lamentation.
meditative	Relating to or absorbed in meditation or considered thought. Meditative techniques.
melancholy	A humor that was once believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause sadness and melancholy. An air of melancholy surrounded him.
mourning	The passionate and demonstrative activity of expressing grief. She s still in mourning after the death of her husband.
nostalgia	Something done or presented in order to evoke feelings of nostalgia. An evening of TV nostalgia.
pensive	Showing pensive sadness. A pensive mood.
reflective	Deeply or seriously thoughtful. Reflective glass.
sadden	Make unhappy. The news of her death saddened me.
sadness	The condition or quality of being sad. She tired of his perpetual sadness.
somber	Lacking brightness or color; dull. Children in somber brown clothes.
sorrow	An event or circumstance that causes sorrow. A woman had cried all night sorrowing over the death of her husband.
thoughtful	Taking heed giving close and thoughtful attention. Brows drawn together in thoughtful consideration.