yearn

[yurn]

verb (used without object)

1. to have an earnest or strong desire; long.

   to yearn for a quiet vacation.

2. to feel tenderness; be moved or attracted.

   They yearned over their delicate child.

yearn

/ jɜːn /

verb

1. to have an intense desire or longing (for); pine (for)

2. to feel tenderness or affection

Other Word Forms

• yearner noun
• unyearned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of yearn¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of yearn¹

Old English giernan; related to Old Saxon girnian, Old Norse girna, Gothic gairnjan, Old High German gerōn to long for, Sanskrit haryati he likes

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Even the good times can make you yearn for the quiet relaxation of a hotel room with concierge service.

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Yet, however destructive to his personal life, Matthiessen’s restive, yearning nature animated the best of his fiction.

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Ms. O’Hara has the more richly written role, and she imbues Carmen with a gentle sense of yearning.

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“We’re all susceptible to the sweet rush of approval, the desperate fear of disapproval, and the yearning for purpose and community,” Huet writes.

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In an interview with Salon, Lawrence rejected the notion that Americans are yearning for a centrist party, saying that voters want candidates who offer tangible material, positive change.

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Related Words

• ache 
• chafe 
• covet 
• crave 
• hanker 
• hunger 
• itch 
• pine 
• thirst