yearning
Americannoun
-
deep longing, especially when accompanied by tenderness or sadness.
a widower's yearning for his wife.
-
an instance of such longing.
noun
Related Words
See desire.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of yearning
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English gierninge; equivalent to yearn + -ing 1
Explanation
A yearning is a strong desire. If you have a yearning to travel in Africa, it means that you dream about it and intensely hope that one day you'll end up there. A strong longing for something is a yearning for it. If you have a yearning for ice cream, it probably means that you've gone a long time without any and are almost desperate to taste some. The Old English root of the words yearn and yearning is georn, which means "eager or desirous."
Vocabulary lists containing yearning
100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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"Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
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Achievement First 7th Grade IA 1 Words
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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.
Yearning for a kind of abstract stimulation that even she can’t put into words, Camille is transfixed by her beloved chair.
From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026
Yearning to belong, Mr. Morales befriended guys who hung out on the street.
From New York Times • May 13, 2022
Yearning to play for a high school team, Shiner transferred last year to what Collins calls a “hockey school,” but he could not immediately play because of the pandemic.
From Washington Post • Dec. 14, 2021
Yearning for retreat to a time of order and predictability serves as our internal stabilizing mechanism.
From Washington Times • Sep. 9, 2020
Yearning and wariness and hopefulness and love . . . does Molly really see all this on Sarah’s face, or is she projecting?
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
