WordValewistfulness
a gentle, yearning sadness
In more detail
a feeling of sad longing or yearning for something that is absent or lost, often mixed with a gentle nostalgia or regret
Examples
- There was a wistfulness in her voice as she talked about her childhood home.
How to use wistfulness
Wistfulness describes a tender, bittersweet emotional state rather than acute pain or desperate desire. It appears frequently in literary and emotional contexts to evoke nostalgia, lost youth, or absent loved ones. Unlike regret, which focuses on past mistakes, wistfulness emphasizes a gentle longing or dreamy quality.
Common phrases
- wistful smile
- wistful look
- wistful longing
- with wistfulness
- a wistful air
Synonyms
longing · yearning · nostalgia · pining · melancholy
Opposites
contentment · satisfaction
Word family
wistful (adjective) · wistfully (adverb)
A common mistake
Learners sometimes confuse wistfulness with bitterness or anger, but the emotion is characteristically soft, reflective, and often tinged with fondness rather than resentment.
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