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yearning

 - 5 dictionary results

yearn⋅ing

  [yur-ning]
Use yearning in a Sentence
–noun
1. deep longing, esp. when accompanied by tenderness or sadness: a widower's yearning for his wife.
2. an instance of such longing.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE gierninge. See yearn, -ing 1

Related forms:
yearn⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. See desire.

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.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME yernen, OE giernan deriv. of georn eager; akin to ON girna to desire, Gk chaírein to rejoice, Skt háryati (he) desires

Related forms:
yearner, noun

Synonyms:
1. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To yearning
yearn   (yûrn)   
intr.v.   yearned, yearn·ing, yearns

  1. To have a strong, often melancholy desire.

  2. To feel deep pity, sympathy, or tenderness: yearned over the child's fate.


[Middle English yernen, from Old English geornan, giernan; see gher-2 in Indo-European roots.]
yearn'er n.
yearn·ing   (yûr'nĭng)   
n.  A persistent, often wistful or melancholy desire; a longing: a yearning for romance and adventure.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

yearn 
O.E. geornan (Mercian), giernan (W.Saxon), giorna (Northumbrian), from P.Gmc. *gernijanan (cf. Goth. gairnjan "to desire," Ger. begehren "to desire"), from base *gernaz (cf. O.H.G. gern, O.N. gjarn "desirous," O.E. georn "eager, desirous," Ger. gern "gladly, willingly"), from PIE base *gher- "to like, want" (see horatory).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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