| interpretation of facts, actions, words, etc., as one would like them to be rather than as they really are; imagining as actual what is not. |
| wishful thinking n. Identification of one's wishes or desires with reality. |
wishful thinking
Interpreting matters as one would like them to be, as opposed to what they really are. For example, Matthew wanted to be a basketball player, but with his height that was wishful thinking. This term comes from Freudian psychology of the mid-1920s and soon began to be used more loosely.