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View synonyms for

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

/ ɜː /

verb

  1. usually foll byfor or after or an infinitive to have an intense desire or longing (for); pine (for)
  2. to feel tenderness or affection
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ𲹰Ա, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • 𲹰İ noun
  • ܲ·𲹰Ա adjective
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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 í𾱲 “to rejoice,” Sanskrit áⲹپ “(he) desires”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of yearn1

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

Examples have not been reviewed.

“I yearn to be banned again,” said Waters, lamenting that his books are by the front door of bookstores rather than “by the true crime near the bathroom or the gay section in the back.”

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Stuck halfway out of the massive graveyard set piece, Gaga performs the song with more yearning than ever before, her agile voice rising and falling as it cascades across the desperation in her lyrics.

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As someone who pioneered that era, what are young people yearning for there?

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The first half takes place in Los Angeles, driven by a narrative voice that is at turns sardonic, hilarious and yearning.

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He keeps in touch with his siblings through video calls, he said, but he yearns to be reunited with them physically and permanently.

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Yearly Meetingyearning