wistful.

Showing gentle sadness or longing for something absent or unattainable.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• wistful smile
• wistful glance
• wistful memory

On the page

A wistful smile crossed her face.

He gave the empty garden a wistful glance.

The letter held a wistful memory of home.

Usage notes

Primary category: gothic. Forms: More wistful; most wistful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.