Meaning & use

pining

verb·Academic

Longing painfully for someone or something that is absent or unattainable.

See it in a sentence

He spent months pining for his hometown after moving overseas.

She sat by the window, pining after a love that had long since ended.

A note on using this word

Almost always followed by 'for' or 'after'; suggests sustained, sorrowful longing.

Words with a similar meaning

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