Make Your Point, Jr. > Words in ABC Order > wistful

Study the word WISTFUL: (Source) When you're looking or feeling wistful, you're a little sad because you really want something that you don't have yet, or because you really miss something that you don't have anymore. You long for something. You yearn for something. And you don't have it, so you're wistful. (Source) You can feel wistful and hopeful at the same time, if you think you might get what you want, or you know you will get it. If recess is an hour away, and you sit at your desk, gazing wistfully out the window at the monkey bars, then you know you'll definitely get to play soon; in the meantime, you're full of sad longing. You're wistful. (Source) But you can also feel wistful and hopeless, if you think you won't get what you want. If your team just lost an important game, and you stand by your coach, gazing wistfully over at the winning team as they celebrate their victory, then you wish you would have won—but you know you didn't. You might sigh wistfully. (Source) Either way, hopeful or hopeless, wistfulness is a sad, serious, thoughtful kind of feeling or mood. When you look at the word "wistful," you might think, "Okay, something beautiful is full of beauty, and someone careful uses a lot of care, so someone wistful must have a lot of wists... and, uh, what are wists?" Well, there's not a great answer! Sorry! Long ago, "wist" meant "attention," and so if you were wistful, you were paying a lot of attention to something, watching for it and, perhaps, hoping to see it. But over time, probably because "wist" sounds like "wish," the meaning of "wistful" changed from "attentive as you long for something" to just "longing for something." (Source)   Make a flash card: You can write your own definition and choose your own picture, or copy mine. Term Definition Picture wistful feeling sad and daydreamy about what you wish you could have   Write your own sentence! You can use either of the two ideas I'll suggest, or you can invent your own. Include as much detail as you can! (Source)   Write a sentence with the word WISTFUL: Remember: wistful people are sadly, silently yearning for something that they don't have. Idea 1: "Smiling wistfully, I think back to when I was (a certain age), and I remember how wonderful it was to (do something)." Idea 2: "(Someone's) eyes are wistful as (he or she) says, 'I've always dreamed of (doing something).'" You can type in here. When you're done, copy and paste your sentence wherever you'd like it to go.