wishful thinker
1
7.0
- noun
- /ˈwɪʃfəl ˈθɪŋkər/
- Informal
:
iluso
- Last night, I thought about the possibility that Christians could be wishful thinkers.
Examples
-
Despite the evidence against it, he remained a wishful thinker, convinced that things would magically work out.
-
Zionism, with its penniless, powerless enthusiasts and grand plans to restore a Jewish commonwealth, was a movement of wishful thinkers.
Academic text (2008) -
Knowledgeable centrists may well bow out of the argument, feeling that they cannot bring sense either to the simpletons of bellicosity or to the wishful thinkers of global peace.
Academic text (2000) -
As a wishful thinker, he always believed his dreams were just around the corner.
-
Her friends often called her a wishful thinker because she refused to accept the difficult realities of life.
Synonyms
71
3.8
A person who imagines new things and cares more about ideas than practical plans
7
6.8
A person who avoids hard parts of life by reading books, watching films, or daydreaming
7
8.2
A person who always expects the best, even when things are bad
5
7.2
A person who has ideas that are not realistic and will not work
3
8.4
A person who often imagines things that are not real or likely
1
3.3
A person who often imagines things instead of paying attention
Antonyms
How Realistic
30
4.4
- US
77
4.1
63
3.2
- Informal
1
7.0
1
3.3
3
8.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'wishful' (having hopeful or unrealistic desires) with 'thinker' (a person who thinks); a learner who knows both words can infer someone who forms beliefs based on wishes rather than evidence. This adjectival + noun composition is a common, productive pattern across languages, so the sense is predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Wishful thinker comes from the simple picture of a person who fills their mind with wishes, a wishful person and a thinker who imagines the result they want instead of looking at the facts. So, it means 'a person who believes what they want to be true instead of what the facts show'.