Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • With desire; longingly; wistfully.
  • Desirably; according to one's wishes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb In a wishful manner.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb in a wishful manner

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

wishful +‎ -ly

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Examples

  • George Steevens remarks that the 4to. of 1598 reads "wishfully," a variation which should be noted, and perhaps adopted, but, printing from the folio, we retained "wilfully."

    Introduction 1857

  • Others can coddle the fools who dither and simper wishfully over gods and old myths and apologetics, but some of us have to charge forward and stake out a solid position, one that excludes altogether the ancient fairy tales.

    Berlinski stirring the pot 2010

  • In contrast, they appear to favor the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, wishfully assuming the organization has moderated its Islamist ideology, or could possibly act as a bulwark against Iran.

    Ida Lichter, M.D.: Women's Rights Can't Flower In Arab Spring M.D. Ida Lichter 2011

  • In contrast, they appear to favor the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, wishfully assuming the organization has moderated its Islamist ideology, or could possibly act as a bulwark against Iran.

    Ida Lichter, M.D.: Women's Rights Can't Flower In Arab Spring M.D. Ida Lichter 2011

  • UCLA's Rick Neuheisel, whose team lost to Oregon last season in a brutal 60-13 rout, predicted perhaps a bit wishfully that Oregon may soon be solved.

    Oregon's Case for the Hall of Geniuses Darren Everson 2011

  • Favreau was so wishfully thought upon as director of the Avengers, mostly because of his success with Iron Man; not only was it a kick-ass stand-alone film, but we got the sense that he truly understood the characters and could deliver.

    No Favreau For Avengers « Giant Killer Squid - Film, Comics, News, Reviews and more 2009

  • (Hat-tip to Tim Roll-Pickering, who unlike most Tories actually understands Europe and thinks, in my opinion a bit wishfully, that this won't last.)

    Things that caught my eye nwhyte 2009

  • But "Three Seconds" is the first Roslund and Hellstrom book that has been wishfully packaged to suggest that "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" has a second cousin.

    Swedish Crime Thrillers Ride 'Dragon Tattoo' Coattails nytimes.com 2011

  • The voodoo economics is the effort to combine the social democratic and neoliberal models, or wishfully think that tax cuts pay for themselves.

    Letters: The ramifications of Scottish independence 2011

  • Indeed Alain Minc, an unofficial adviser to Sarkozy, has suggested – perhaps wishfully – that Sarko would look better when a socialist candidate entered the race.

    Nicolas Sarkozy: Is France falling in love again? | Peter Beaumont 2011

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