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

/ jɜːn /

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

Derived Forms

• ˈyearner, noun

Other Words From

• yearner noun
• un·yearned adjective

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 chaírein “to rejoice,” Sanskrit háryati “(he) desires”

Word History and Origins

Origin of yearn¹

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

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.

Example Sentences

“Noid” was dense and menacing, Tyler’s flow somewhere between a growl and a yowl; “Darling, I” was light and whimsical but almost painfully yearning too.

From Los Angeles Times

Per Wayne State School of Law professor Khaled A. Beydoun, “Money drives the yearning for a white contender who can capture the imagination of new audiences and the maximum dollars only whiteness can bring.”

From Salon

The event took social media by storm, with one person commenting on X it was "a historic pop culture moment", while another said the competition "shows that the people yearn for weird town events".

From BBC

If it weren't for getting three Supreme Court justices, the damage he did would be relatively small compared to his destructive yearnings.

From Salon

Jimmy Carter once said, “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ache
• chafe
• covet
• crave
• hanker
• hunger
• itch
• pine
• thirst