yearn
verb (used without object)
to have an earnest or strong desire; long.
yearned
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past participleof yearn.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof yearn.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
yearnverb (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.
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
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
It was Hockney reaching for the person he yearned to become.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Perhaps sensing the hopelessness of his situation, Garfield yearned to leave the cramped, depressing White House sickroom and the foul smell of Washington's swamps that wafted in through the open windows.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
