yearn

/jərn/

/jən/

Other forms: yearning; yearned; yearns

To yearn for something is to really, really want it. You might yearn for freedom or you might yearn for a perfect tamale. Usually you yearn for something or someone you can't easily get.

If you have a hankering for pie, you could also say that you yearn for it. Yearn also means "to feel sweet on someone" or "to have affection for something." If your girlfriend moves to Alaska and you’re stuck in Texas, you’d probably yearn for her. And when she comes back to visit, you would still yearn — meaning you’d still feel affection for her.

Definitions of yearn

1. verb

   desire strongly or persistently
   synonyms: hanker, long

   types:

   ache, languish, pine, yen

   have a desire for something or someone who is not present

   die

   languish as with love or desire

   type of:

   desire, want

   feel or have a desire for; want strongly
2. verb

   have a desire for something or someone who is not present
   synonyms: ache, languish, pine, yen

   types:

   die

   languish as with love or desire

   type of:

   hanker, long

   desire strongly or persistently
3. verb

   have affection for; feel tenderness for
   type of:

   care for, cherish, hold dear, treasure

   be fond of; be attached to