- present participle of yawn.
yawning
Americanadjective
-
being or standing wide open; gaping.
the yawning mouth of a cave.
-
indicating by yawns one's weariness or indifference.
The lecturer was oblivious to his yawning audience.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of yawning
before 900; Middle English; Old English geniendum. See yawn, -ing 2
Explanation
Yawning is what happens when you reflexively open your mouth wide, inhale, and exhale again. Most yawning is caused by sleepiness or extreme boredom. Use the word yawning for actual yawning — or to mean "wide open." A yawning chasm in the ground is a huge, wide gap, and a yawning hole in a movie's plot is the obvious space where some details are missing, making the resulting story seem unlikely and unbelievable. A yawning child, on the other hand, is probably just ready for her nap.
Vocabulary lists containing yawning
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.
“Even if inflation does move considerably toward the target, certain fundamentals that were already underpinning longer term rates remain in place, such as record-level borrowing by the U.S. and yawning budget gaps,” he says.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
The yawning gap between the policy preferences of elites and those of rank-and-file blacks remains today, but it was just as obvious three decades ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
Those yawning at the contest may be looking for glitz and entertainment.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Following more than 20 hours of talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, US Vice President JD Vance admitted the yawning differences between the US and Iran proved to be insurmountable for the moment.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
But in mid-June, 1906, the deep yawning hole that would swallow up Granny looked horrible, like it could suck me down.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
