yearn
Americanverb (used without object)
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yearns,
present (3rd person singular)
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yearned,
past participle, past
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yearning
present participle
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to have an earnest or strong desire; long.
to yearn for a quiet vacation.
-
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
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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yearnsimple
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yearnssimple
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have yearnedperfect
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has yearnedperfect
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am yearningprogressive
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are yearningprogressive
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is yearningprogressive
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have been yearningperfect progressive
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has been yearningperfect progressive
Past
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yearnedsimple
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had yearnedperfect
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was yearningprogressive
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were yearningprogressive
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had been yearningperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
To yearn for something is to really, really want it. You might yearn for freedom or you might yearn for a perfect tamale. Usually you yearn for something or someone you can't easily get. If you have a hankering for pie, you could also say that you yearn for it. Yearn also means "to feel sweet on someone" or "to have affection for something." If your girlfriend moves to Alaska and you’re stuck in Texas, you’d probably yearn for her. And when she comes back to visit, you would still yearn — meaning you’d still feel affection for her.
Vocabulary lists containing yearn
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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List 12
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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.
See Examples For:
And yet, children often yearn to hear about their parents’ past, including memories of trauma, particularly as they become adults.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
“He really took the yearn to the next level, really going there with your emotions,” Dean says, stretching really twice to add weight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Some people yearn for zero debt, so your decision isn’t strictly about the numbers — as compelling as they are — it’s also about your risk tolerance as you enjoy your retirement.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026
They look at gaping inequalities in society and yearn for change.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
I know I should probably hate that about interstates and yearn for the halcyon days of yore, back when you could be drenched in local color at every turn— but whatever.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
Needless to say, the young narrator soon yearns to marry the lovely and ethereal Blanche.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The show ended with Dance With Me, a ballad in which Mars yearns for one last slow dance to save a struggling relationship.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
When healthy, scouts said, he can be the lob threat and defender that Doncic yearns to have.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
But now, when the 60-year-old yearns for the Pacific, he can land in this newly purchased perch.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026
He wishes that he could go to Nuenen when Theo does, and walk through the old country churchyard with Theo and Pa. His “heart yearns to be together.”
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Already recognized as perhaps the top power-hitting second baseman of all time, he yearned for a championship ring to make his career complete.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
That’s the Appalachian landscape that Baurichter, a writer and stay-at-home mother in Higginsport, yearned to return to after a stint in Cincinnati for college.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
But Schulte’s surveys and focus groups clearly showed that men yearned to contribute to care and share obligations equally with women.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
But I yearned for a way of understanding the world that could make room for both the importance of my past and the existence of my own agency.”
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
They yearned for the warmth of their home, the pets awaiting their arrival, the comfort of Mama’s nourishing meals, and the love of their friends and neighbors.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Edgar-Jones makes us feel the yearning beneath Elinor’s calm reserve and Creed-Miles dazzles, conveying Marianne’s open-hearted abandon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The record, a gorgeous collection of songs about yearning — for love, self, art, everything — is meant to be shared in a small room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
The effect is less a fall than a settling—from yearning into tenderness, like an audible sigh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Frustrated, I find myself yearning for an expert.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
But this, he realized, letting himself go deeper, to feel it completely, was not a yearning for a bowl of soup or piece of bread.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
