# wasteful vs wistful

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### wasteful
*adjective · IPA /ˈweɪstfəl/ · frequency rank #20,542*
Inclined to waste or squander money or resources.

### wistful
*adjective · IPA /ˈwɪstfəl/ · frequency rank #41,475*
Full of longing or yearning.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wasteful-vs-wistful