as in nostalgic
showing or evoking a sad longing for an often idealized past
She felt wistful looking through her college yearbook, remembering old friends she had not seen in decades.
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Recent Examples of wistful
Now summer is slinking off and autumn is rushing in, cool and a little wistful.
—
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Now it has been relegated to the realm of wistful articles, added to the glowing funeral pyre of cultural entities—breakfast cereals, bar soap, chain restaurants, and so forth—that Millennials have been accused of abandoning.
—Jordan Michelman, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
What’s different, after 25 years of all that freshly unashamed ABBA love, is that our wistful nostalgia isn’t just for ABBA anymore.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2025
But with their slower pace of life and wistful air of nostalgia, there’s just something about small towns.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wistful
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Now it has been relegated to the realm of wistful articles, added to the glowing funeral pyre of cultural entities—breakfast cereals, bar soap, chain restaurants, and so forth—that Millennials have been accused of abandoning.
—Jordan Michelman, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
What’s different, after 25 years of all that freshly unashamed ABBA love, is that our wistful nostalgia isn’t just for ABBA anymore.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2025
But with their slower pace of life and wistful air of nostalgia, there’s just something about small towns.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wistful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wistful
Adjective
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In the end, the 77th Annual Emmy Awards served as both a nostalgic tribute to television’s rich past and a clear testament to its rapidly evolving future.—
Marc Berman,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
These pants combine the comfort of barrel jeans with the nostalgic details of cargo pants, offering a functional and easy-to-wear design.—
Melody Kazel,
PEOPLE,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Late ‘80s delves into electronic minimalism, dreamy club, and experimental guitar, all seven songs imbued with the dull glow of starry skies.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
19 Sep. 2025
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Set along the shoreline of Cap d’Antibes, the restaurant features a dreamy panorama of the Mediterranean with sailboats gliding past the bay, and the Esterel Mountains rising in the distance.—
Jeryl Brunner,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The three-part Season 5 premiere feels incredibly sloppy to me overall.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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With that history and with Aaron Glenn trying to deliver a message just one game into his head coaching career, Gipson will serve as the example to the rest of the Jets' roster that sloppy turnovers will not be tolerated.—
Michael Hurley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wistful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wistful. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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