How to Use wishful thinking in a Sentence

wishful thinking

noun
  • The idea that the enemy will immediately surrender is nothing more than wishful thinking.
  • That proved from the start of the match to be wishful thinking.
    Joel Petterson, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2017
  • That is wishful thinking on the part of the price bulls.
    Michael Lynch, Forbes, 6 July 2021
  • But such wishful thinking doesn’t pay the bills — or keep the lights on.
    Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 22 July 2024
  • If that’s wishful thinking, then let the wish linger much longer than the virus.
    Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2020
  • This faith in the Fed wasn’t based on wishful thinking.
    John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 14 May 2022
  • To date, those Trump-slayers have proven to be wishful thinking on the part of the GOP.
    Rafi Schwartz, The Week, 15 Dec. 2022
  • But the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s made that seem like wishful thinking.
    Larry Wolff, WSJ, 13 July 2018
  • And there's one school of thought that said that was wishful thinking.
    CBS News, 25 Sep. 2019
  • Or is this just wishful thinking for two boys of this age?
    Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 20 June 2024
  • For the first time in a long time, the idea that better days are ahead wouldn’t just be wishful thinking.
    Scott Bordow, azcentral, 1 Apr. 2018
  • There’s a smidgen of solace in that: in the facade, the lie, the wishful thinking, the distraction, the delusion, the hope.
    Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2020
  • No amount of wishful thinking across these last two weeks of the season can change that.
    Tara Sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2019
  • That seems to be -- some people might say that's a bit of wishful thinking.
    NBC News, 15 Aug. 2021
  • That kind of wishful thinking could lead you to lose lots of money.
    Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 11 July 2024
  • That, of course, could prove to be a Democrat’s wishful thinking.
    Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2023
  • Their chance of getting the No. 1 seed in the NFC is pretty much just wishful thinking now.
    Rod Walker, NOLA.com, 20 Dec. 2020
  • Such a scheme would not have cost the city any money, but it was agreed that this was wishful thinking.
    Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
  • That is achievable but rests on some sleight of hand and wishful thinking.
    Spencer Jakab, WSJ, 26 June 2018
  • The Italian piece of the name was a bit of wishful thinking; at more than 3,700 pounds, the car wasn’t even light, let alone super light.
    Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2024
  • The wishful thinking might well be on the Democratic side this time around.
    Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2022
  • These had been crafted with care — and no small amount of wishful thinking.
    Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2018
  • Strength and force are what is needed, not words and wishful thinking.
    Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2024
  • Even then, some believe there’s a hefty dose of wishful thinking in House Bill 2021.
    oregonlive, 21 July 2021
  • That might have sounded at the time like the wishful thinking of a coach on the hot seat, except that the Giants went on to run the table.
    Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2021
  • Israel for its part, moved away from the kind of wishful thinking about Iran that had fed the Iran-contra plan.
    Ali M. Ansari, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2024
  • But, as of right now, this all feels like wishful thinking for Jordan.
    Nick Romano, EW.com, 29 Apr. 2021
  • The Pac-12 will not play football in the fall, while holding a season in the spring is, at least for the moment, wishful thinking.
    Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 13 Aug. 2020
  • Needless to say, no amount of wishful thinking can make hair grow two feet overnight.
    Marci Robin, Allure, 17 May 2018
  • He’s said it before, and many wrote it off as wishful thinking.
    Steve Lord, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wishful thinking.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: