wistful
[adjective]
Synonyms: melancholy, contemplative, dreamy, longing, meditative, pensive, reflective, thoughtful

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English Thesaurus: sad, unhappy, homesick, down, gloomy, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

wist‧ful /ˈwɪstfəl/ adjective
[Date: 1600-1700; Origin: wistly 'with close attention' (15-18 centuries), probably from whist 'quiet' (15-20 centuries); influenced by wishful]
thinking sadly about something you would like to have but cannot have, especially something that you used to have in the past:
a wistful smile
—wistfully adverb:
‘That’s the house where I was born,’ she said wistfully.
—wistfulness noun [uncountable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

sad not happy:
She felt sad as she waved goodbye.
a sad and lonely figure
a sad face
a sad film
unhappy sad, especially for a long time – used about people and periods of time:
I was unhappy at school.
an unhappy childhood
He’s obviously a deeply unhappy person.
homesick [not before noun] sad because you are away from your home, family, and friends:
She sometimes felt homesick when she first arrived in Japan.
down [not before noun] informal feeling sad for a few hours or days, often for no reason:
Whenever I’m feeling down, I go out and buy myself some new clothes.
She’s been kind of down since that argument with Jack.
gloomy looking or sounding sad and without hope – used about people, places, and weather:
Why are you all looking so gloomy?
the gloomy immigration office
a gloomy afternoon in February
dejected/downcast looking sad and disappointed because something you hoped for did not happen:
‘I didn’t pass,’ he said, looking dejected.
a downcast expression
He was understandably downcast after the team’s loss.
mournful especially literary looking or sounding sad:
the dog’s big mournful eyes
the mournful sound of the church bell
a mournful expression
glum looking sad and disappointed:
Don’t look so glum! Maybe you’ll win next time.
They sat in glum silence.
wistful especially literary looking a little sad and thoughtful, because you wish that the situation was different:
She looked at him with a wistful smile.
miserable very sad, especially because you are lonely, cold, ill, or upset – used about people and periods of time:
I felt miserable and blamed myself for what had happened.
Her life was miserable.
I had a miserable time at college.
depressed very sad and without hope for a long time, because things are wrong in your life or because of a medical condition:
After his wife left him, he became depressed and refused to talk to anyone.
heartbroken extremely sad because of something that has happened to someone or something that you care about very much:
She was heartbroken when her dog died.
distressed/distraught very upset because of something bad that has happened, so that you cannot think clearly:
She was very distressed when he left her.
The boy’s hospital bed was surrounded by distraught relatives.
devastated [not before noun] extremely sad and shocked, because something very bad has happened:
The whole town was devastated by the tragedy.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲