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Synonyms

pining

American  
[pahy-ning] / ˈpaɪ nɪŋ /

adjective

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  1. 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.

His public pining for a Nobel Peace Prize.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

And in an especially disturbing fundraising email sent in the very early morning hours of Feb. 13, Trump evoked the image of a lonely lover pining for company.

From Salon • Feb. 24, 2026

These include that Takeshi Okawara, the manager of Japan's first KFC outlet, overheard foreigners pining for turkey, which is often eaten at Christmas in Britain and the United States.

From Barron's • Dec. 3, 2025

Reflecting on this new approach to online dating, I wonder if we are going full circle, pining for the traditional dating culture of the pre-internet age?

From BBC • Aug. 2, 2025

The poor black-and-white rodent had been by himself for the past eighteen months, and Virgil couldn’t help but think he’d been pining the hours away in desperate loneliness.

From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.