yawning

[ yaw-ning ]

adjective

1. being or standing wide open; gaping:

   the yawning mouth of a cave.

2. indicating by yawns one's weariness or indifference:

   The lecturer was oblivious to his yawning audience.

Other Words From

• yawning·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of yawning¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English geniendum. See yawn, -ing ²

Example Sentences

A stark, yawning gap separated private behavior and deep-rooted public morality.

From Los Angeles Times

With “Succession” gone the premium cable channel needs something to fill the yawning space between seasons of “House of the Dragon.”

From Salon

The tried-and-true way to close yawning gaps in income inequality, health care access, and worker satisfaction is with labor unions.

From Salon

Lower state funding, along with higher costs primarily driven by faculty and staff pay increases, larger retirement plan contributions and more expensive healthcare, are projected to create that yawning UC budget hole.

From Los Angeles Times

Just as months of relentless polling showed Harris in a virtual tie with Donald Trump, many of those same surveys told the story of a yawning gender gap.

From BBC

Related Words

• broad
• buried
• deep-seated
• far
• profound
• rooted
• wide