pining

[ pahy-ning ]
See synonyms for: piningpinings on Thesaurus.com

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.

Origin of pining

1
First recorded in 1200–50; pin(e)2 + -ing2 for the adjective senses; pin(e)2 + -ing1 for the noun sense

Words Nearby pining

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pining in a sentence