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to yearn

to yearn

92 4.9
To want something very much when you cannot have it
  • verb
  • /jɪrn/
translation icon : anhelar
  • After being alone for so long, she began to yearn for companionship and meaningful relationships.
  • yearn for more
  • yearn for simpler times
  • yearn to return

Your character wants to be in love, they yearn to be in love, but they're alone.

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Examples

  • And so that's another existential point, which is that we yearn for freedom.

  • My friend, I yearn for freedom as much as anyone but I run from no man.

  • And I do because I yearn for that love they have like I yearn for that.

  • Oh my God, you just made me like yearn for it.

  • But you are so beautiful, my wife, and I yearn to show you my love in every way.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Which are the roles that you yearn to play?

  • We hit this milestone because people yearn for connection.

  • As long as you lack something, you yearn for it without cease.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • People crave it, they yearn for it, they want it.

  • The human person transcends material needs and yearns for truth, love, friendship, and justice.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

to die
vsto yearn
  • Informal
598 7.9

To want something very much

is the neutral term used especially when desire is for absent or hard to get things
to desire
vsto yearn
446 1.6

To want something very much

means a longer lasting wish, often for things that are absent or hard to get
to long
vsto yearn
114 4.5

To want something very much and keep wanting it

is used especially when the object of desire is absent or hard to have
to crave
vsto yearn
103 3.8

To want something very much

expresses strong ongoing wishing usually for things that are absent or hard to get
to pine
vsto yearn
37 8.2

To miss someone or something very much because they are not with you

focuses on desire when the object is hard to obtain or missing
to ache
vsto yearn
18 4.2

To feel a strong longing for someone or something far away

expresses lasting desire and focus on things that are hard to obtain or missing
to pine for
vsto yearn
17 6.7

To feel very sad and want someone or something a lot

expresses desire especially when the thing wanted is absent or difficult to get
to thirst
vsto yearn
8 5.2

To have a strong wish for something

is used for strong personal longing often when something is absent or hard to obtain
to hanker
vsto yearn
5 7.4

To want something very much for a long time

focuses on desire for things that are absent or hard to get
to languish
vsto yearn
  • Literature
1 7.7

To miss someone or something a lot when they are far away

describes active strong wishing often aimed at things absent or hard to get
to yen
vsto yearn
8.3

To want someone or something very much

highlights strong longing especially when the desired thing is hard to obtain or absent

How Much

to ache
18 4.2
to yearn
92 4.9
to desire
446 1.6
to want
1.0
wish
474 1.0

Surface Forms

yearn infinitive
yearned past
yearned past participle
yearning present participle
yearns third person singular

Etymology

Yearn comes from the old English verb giernan and the old Norse verb girna, both meaning 'to desire' or 'want strongly'. So to yearn is like having a deep, aching wish for something you do not have.