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yearned

  • past participle
    of yearn.
    yearn
    verb (used without object)
    to have an earnest or strong desire; long.
  • past tense form
    of yearn.
    yearn
    verb (used without object)
    to have an earnest or strong desire; long.

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:

I was a painfully shy introvert with a unibrow who yearned to be an elderly shut-in by age 9.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 7, 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

She yearned to see her mother again, and Robb and Bran and Rickon . . . but it was Jon Snow she thought of most.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin