yearn
Americanverb (used without object)
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to have an earnest or strong desire; long.
to yearn for a quiet vacation.
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to feel tenderness; be moved or attracted.
They yearned over their delicate child.
verb
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to have an intense desire or longing (for); pine (for)
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to feel tenderness or affection
Related Words
Yearn, long, hanker, pine all mean to feel a powerful desire for something. Yearn stresses the depth and passionateness of a desire: to yearn to get away and begin a new life; to yearn desperately for recognition. Long implies a wholehearted desire for something that is or seems unattainable: to long to relive one's childhood; to long for the warmth of summer. Hanker suggests a restless or incessant craving to fulfill some urge or desire: to hanker for a promotion; to hanker after fame and fortune. Pine adds the notion of physical or emotional suffering as a result of the real or apparent hopelessness of one's desire: to pine for one's native land; to pine for a lost love.
Other Word Forms
- unyearned adjective
- yearner noun
Etymology
Origin of yearn
First recorded before 900; Middle English yernen, Old English giernan derivative of georn “eager”; akin to Old Norse girna “to desire,” Greek chaírein “to rejoice,” Sanskrit háryati “(he) desires”
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.
She may still yearn for the approval, acknowledgement, attention and validation of her father, even if she received those things from her stepfather.
From MarketWatch
Mr. Scaggs’s moving lyrics and yearning vocal made the song a pop standard.
The lyrics of trot songs typically revolve around love and separation, or the yearning for a warm, familiar home.
From BBC
Just to get us all up to speed on what’s happening with The Youth: The social trend most associated with Gen Z is declining to date, and instead dedicating themselves to romantic yearning.
From Salon
She could portray this person yearning to connect with something deeper as an actor.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
