pining

American

[pahy-ning] / ˈpaɪ nɪŋ /

adjective

suffering with or expressing longing or yearning for someone or something.

Exposing her vulnerability and loneliness, the poet addresses her country as would a pining woman in a letter to her beloved in a distant land.
Her pining vocals on these tracks throb with the loneliness and emptiness of fresh separation.
failing gradually in health or vitality, especially from grief, regret, or longing.

The day after the altercation he took sick, and continued in a pining and languishing condition till his death, which soon ensued.

noun

the act or state of yearning or longing, or of gradually failing in health or vitality.

It’s a story of the pining we all feel for the pleasures of our childhood and the relationships that once held us in safety.

Etymology

Origin of pining

First recorded in 1200–50; pin(e) ² ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; pin(e) ² ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There’s no evidence that this generation intends to make pining their only romantic activity; it’s more that they are very content, at the moment, to luxuriate in the many conduits for yearning available to them.

From Salon

For decades engineers, architects, futurists, industrialists, investors and politicians have been pining for a better, faster and cheaper way to build homes.

From Los Angeles Times

In his seven-figure Olympian existence, we can step out of our solitary pining into an enviable characterization, one that is seldom offered to characters that look and love like us.

From Salon

He is also pining for his young children, with the second one arriving in late November.

From Barron's

I was even pining for Mrs. Wigginbottom’s sorry company—anything seemed better than facing another afternoon with our pint-size terror.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023