yearn
verb (used without object)
to have an earnest or strong desire; long.
have been yearning
-
present perfect progressiveof yearn.present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
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.
“People have been yearning for him to be arrested for a long time. It’s never been unsolved in our minds. It’s been unprosecuted.”
From Washington Times ● Sep. 29, 2023
“It seems to suggest that a lot of people have been yearning to see a little romance on the screen,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1987.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2023
"We have been yearning for change," he said, still in line by mid-morning.
From Reuters ● Jun. 24, 2023
How they must have been yearning to leap up from their seats and shout: “Objection, your honour. Hypocrisy!”
From The Guardian ● Jan. 27, 2020
I have been yearning for you as if you were my own son; and of all the men that ever I came for in my long days, I have come for you most gladly.
From Merry Men by Robert Louis Stevenson
