wistfulness
2
6.8
- noun
- /ˈwɪstfəlnəs/
:
nostalgia
- As the last notes of the song faded, a feeling of wistfulness enveloped the audience, reflecting on moments long gone.
- a trace of wistfulness
- a hint of wistfulness
- wistfulness and regret
Examples
-
Jondalar noticed a wistfulness in her tone.
Fiction book (1990) -
A new sadness had crept into his eyes, a look of wistfulness and foreboding.
Fiction book (1994) -
'I closed the book, and felt a strange mixture of wistfulness and hope.
-
"The hint of wistfulness in her voice decided Scott in an instant.
Fiction book (2000) -
My mother always thought of that farm with a wistfulness that I now recognize signaled a sense of loss.
Fiction book (1998) -
" Elinor thought she heard a rare note of wistfulness in Mae's voice."
Fiction book (1999) -
'People don't really care,' said Marx-Nielsen, a vague air of wistfulness in her voice.
Blog text (7) -
From the open doorway, Mrs. Bertie Pendleton surveyed the domestic scene with something like wistfulness in her expression.
Fiction book (1990) -
When she looked at old photographs, a deep sense of wistfulness washed over her, reminding her of the friends she had lost touch with.
-
He spoke with wistfulness about his childhood summers spent at his grandmother's house, each memory tinged with a hint of sadness.
Synonyms
69
4.2
A strong wish for someone or something you cannot have
8
5.5
A strong, lasting wish for something you want but cannot get
A deep, painful sadness from missing someone or something
A strong feeling of wanting something that is not there
Antonyms
How Longing
Surface Forms
Morphology
wistfulness = wistful (transparent) = wist + ful + ness
The adjective is formed with the productive suffix '-ful', but the root 'wist' is archaic/rare and not a standalone modern English word, making the adjective only partially transparent to learners.
Etymology
Wistfulness comes from an old verb wist meaning 'to know', but over time it mixed with wish meaning 'to want'. So wistfulness is a quiet, slightly sad kind of wanting or longing for something lost or never had.