Showing results for "pining"

• present participle of pine.

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

pinings plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pinings
  plural

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

Instead, young women are pining for throwback, off-road SUVs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026

By all accounts, investors are pining for shares.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Their plight at the hugely unpopular and vast former athletics track is well documented, with fans pining for Upton Park's intimidating atmosphere.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 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

But her ghost was always wandering about the woods, gazing over Hailsham, pining to be let back in.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• attitude
• character
• decision
• desire
• determination
• discipline
• feeling
• inclination
• intention
• mind
• passion
• power
• resolution
• resolve
• wish