yearn

[yurn]

verb (used without object)

1. to have an earnest or strong desire; long.

   to yearn for a quiet vacation.

2. to feel tenderness; be moved or attracted.

   They yearned over their delicate child.

yearn

/ jɜːn /

verb

1. to have an intense desire or longing (for); pine (for)

2. to feel tenderness or affection

Other Word Forms

• yearner noun
• unyearned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of yearn¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English yernen, Old English giernan derivative of georn “eager”; akin to Old Norse girna “to desire,” Greek chaírein “to rejoice,” Sanskrit háryati “(he) desires”

Word History and Origins

Origin of yearn¹

Old English giernan; related to Old Saxon girnian, Old Norse girna, Gothic gairnjan, Old High German gerōn to long for, Sanskrit haryati he likes

Synonym Study

Yearn, long, hanker, pine all mean to feel a powerful desire for something. Yearn stresses the depth and passionateness of a desire: to yearn to get away and begin a new life; to yearn desperately for recognition. Long implies a wholehearted desire for something that is or seems unattainable: to long to relive one's childhood; to long for the warmth of summer. Hanker suggests a restless or incessant craving to fulfill some urge or desire: to hanker for a promotion; to hanker after fame and fortune. Pine adds the notion of physical or emotional suffering as a result of the real or apparent hopelessness of one's desire: to pine for one's native land; to pine for a lost love.

Example Sentences

Their temporary coach having steadied them through every challenge, including his own uncertain future, those players yearned to preserve what might have been the best part of a burdensome season.

From Los Angeles Times

I yearn for that time, also maybe because it was a version of America that was anti-Nazi.”

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, the flower aisle at Michael’s has become hallowed ground synonymous with dreamy yearning thanks to Season 3’s fifth episode, told from Conrad’s point of view, that also marks Han’s directorial debut.

From Los Angeles Times

The 1960s middle classes could not afford haute couture, but yearned for a stylish, distinctive look of their own.

From BBC

When I was trying to find the throughline here, I was thinking about the subject matter: There’s a lot of love and yearning here.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ache 
• chafe 
• covet 
• crave 
• hanker 
• hunger 
• itch 
• pine 
• thirst