Meaning & use
yearning
A strong, often wistful feeling of longing for something, especially something unattainable or in the past.
See it in a sentence
She felt a deep yearning for her childhood home whenever she smelled fresh bread.
His letters were filled with yearning for the family he had left behind.
A note on using this word
Yearning is more emotional and literary than simple wanting, often carrying a tone of sadness, nostalgia, or something just out of reach.
Words with a similar meaning
longingcraving
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
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