If you say that an idea, wish, or hope is wishful thinking, you mean that it has failed to come true or is unlikely to come true.

What does the phrase wishful thinking mean?

: the attribution of reality to what one wishes to be true or the tenuous justification of what one wants to believe.

How do you use wishful thinking?

wishful thinking | American Dictionary

the imagining of an unlikely future event or situation that you wish were possible: We talked about buying a house someday, but right now it's just wishful thinking.