Meaning & use
longing
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A deep, lasting desire for something or someone you do not have or cannot easily reach.
Grammar: Usually followed by for: a longing for home.
Patterns
- a longing for something
- a longing to do something
She felt a deep longing for the village where she grew up.
His longing to see the ocean never faded.
The song is full of longing for a lost summer.
adjectivebefore a nounliterary
Showing a strong wish for something, as in a longing look.
Grammar: Appears before a noun: a longing glance.
Patterns
- a longing look
He cast a longing glance at the cake in the window.
The children gave the toy shop a longing look.
Word forms
| plural | longings |
|---|
Common combinations
- a deep longing
- A deep longing for home kept him awake.
- longing for
- Her longing for adventure grew each year.
- a longing to
- He had a longing to travel the world.
- feel longing
- Sometimes I feel longing when I smell fresh bread.
- a longing look
- The dog gave her a longing look as she ate.
Synonyms and how they differ
- yearning
- Yearning is nearly the same but is a little more poetic and intense.
- craving
- Craving is a physical or urgent desire, such as for food, while longing is more emotional.
- desire
- Desire is wider and can be brief or ordinary, and does not carry longing's sense of absence.
- nostalgia
- Nostalgia is specifically a wistful longing for the past.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: longing or belonging?
longing vs belonging
Belonging means feeling you fit in, while longing means wanting something you lack.
Practice
She stared at the sea with a ___ she could not explain.
Choose one answer.
Longing is the deep wish she feels. Belonging describes fitting in and does not match staring wistfully.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “longing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.