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“wishful”
wishful, wistful
wishful (WISH fuhl) (adjective)
Having or expressing a wish or longing for something to happen or to succeed even though it is not likely to happen or to succeed: "Sylvia often had wishful hopes that she could change her husband's bad habits."
"The idea that the enemy will immediately surrender is nothing more than wishful thinking."
wistful (WIST fuhl) (adjective)
Having or showing sad thoughts and feelings about something that someone wants to have or to do and especially about something that made that person happy in the past: "Lillian had a wistful look on her face and then she asked Lois, 'Do you remember when we used to go to the old playground at our elementary school?'."
A Fishy Tale
They always say the fish they caught
Last year were twice the size,
And make a big production of
Their rods and lures and flies.
They tell the tallest tales, it seems,
Straight-faced and without blinking:
It's not exactly lies, you know,
But rather fishful thinking.
The wishful thinker often ends up being in a wistful condition.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Confusing Words Clarified: Group W; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +
(page 3)