wistful

/'wistful/

Thân thiện

She had a wistful smile as she watched the children play.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Showing a feeling of vague or thoughtful longing, often tinged with sadness: Characterized by a gentle, slightly sad yearning for something, typically something lost, unattainable, or in the past. It often involves quiet, pensive reflection.
   • Musingly or sadly thoughtful: Having a thoughtful, somewhat melancholy expression or mood.

Usage

The adjective "wistful" describes a state of mind or an expression that combines quiet thoughtfulness with a sense of longing. It is often used to describe a look, a smile, a tone of voice, or a memory. It is not a strong, sharp sadness but a softer, more reflective one.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • She gave a wistful smile as she remembered her childhood home.
  • He listened to the old song with a wistful expression on his face.
  • There was a wistful tone in her voice when she spoke about her travels.

Advanced Usage

• "to be wistful for/about something": to feel a longing or yearning for something.
  • He was wistful for the simple summers of his youth.
  • She felt wistful about the opportunities she had missed.

Variants and Related Words

• Wistfully (adverb): in a wistful manner.
  • He sighed wistfully, looking at the old photographs.
• Wistfulness (noun): the quality or state of being wistful.
  • The poem is filled with a gentle wistfulness for a bygone era.

Synonyms

• Yearning: having a strong, often melancholic desire.
• Pensive: engaged in deep or serious thought, often with a hint of sadness.
• Nostalgic: longing for the past.
• Melancholy: a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.

Antonyms

• Content: satisfied, with no desire for change.
• Cheerful: noticeably happy and optimistic.
• Unreflective: not given to serious thought or contemplation.

Idioms and Phrases

• A wistful look/glance/smile: A facial expression conveying wistfulness.
  • He cast a wistful glance at the departing train.
• To sound wistful: For one's voice to convey a tone of wistfulness.
  • Her voice sounded wistful as she described her dream.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. showing pensive sadness
   • the sensitive and wistful response of a poet to the gentler phases of beauty

Từ đồng nghĩa

• pensive