yawning

American  

[yaw-ning] / ˈyɔ nɪŋ /

adjective

1. being or standing wide open; gaping.

   the yawning mouth of a cave.

2. indicating by yawns one's weariness or indifference.

   The lecturer was oblivious to his yawning audience.

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Other Word Forms

• yawningly
  adverb

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.

Example Sentences

Much of “Choo Choo Revue,” like the yawning, serenading moon, is rooted in the music of the past.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

This yields a yawning gap of 112,000 monthly jobs, on average, between what the Labor Department first reported and analysts’ projections so far this year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

And while the money did close some of the early, yawning deficit Cornyn was facing against Paxton in preliminary polling, it hardly has put his opponents away.

From Slate • Mar. 2, 2026

Hart keeps up a steady stream of anecdotes and witty repartee, but increasingly the mask slips; underneath it all is the yawning realization that he is utterly alone.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Dinner was served and the others came in—Sparrow and Ruby from the garden; Feral, yawning, from the direction of his room.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Related Words

• broad
• buried
• deep-seated
• far
• profound
• rooted
• wide