yearn

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yearn

(yûrn)

intr.v. yearned, yearn·ing, yearns

1. To have a strong, often sad longing: yearn for a better life; yearn to see an old friend.

2. To feel deep pity, sympathy, or tenderness: yearned over the child's fate.

[Middle English yernen, from Old English geornan, giernan; see gher- in Indo-European roots.]

yearn′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

yearn

(jɜːn)

vb (intr)

1. (usually foll by: for or after or an infinitive) to have an intense desire or longing (for); pine (for)

2. to feel tenderness or affection

[Old English giernan; related to Old Saxon girnian, Old Norse girna, Gothic gairnjan, Old High German gerōn to long for, Sanskrit haryati he likes]

ˈyearner n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

yearn

(yɜrn)

v.i.

1. to have an earnest or strong desire; long.

2. to feel tenderness; be moved.

[before 900; Middle English yernen, Old English giernan, derivative of georn eager, c. Old Saxon, Old High German gern, Gothic -gairns desirous; akin to Greek chaírein to rejoice, Skt háryati (he) desires]

yearn′er, n.

syn: yearn, long, hanker, pine all mean to feel a strong desire for something. yearn stresses the depth and power of the desire: to yearn to begin a new life. long implies a wholehearted desire for something that seems unattainable: to long to relive one's childhood. hanker suggests a restless craving: to hanker after fame and fortune. pine adds the notion of physical or emotional suffering due to the real or apparent hopelessness of one's desire: to pine for a lost love.

yearn

Past participle: yearned
Gerund: yearning

Imperative
yearn
yearn

Present
I yearn
you yearn
he/she/it yearns
we yearn
you yearn
they yearn

Preterite
I yearned
you yearned
he/she/it yearned
we yearned
you yearned
they yearned

Present Continuous
I am yearning
you are yearning
he/she/it is yearning
we are yearning
you are yearning
they are yearning

Present Perfect
I have yearned
you have yearned
he/she/it has yearned
we have yearned
you have yearned
they have yearned

Past Continuous
I was yearning
you were yearning
he/she/it was yearning
we were yearning
you were yearning
they were yearning

Past Perfect
I had yearned
you had yearned
he/she/it had yearned
we had yearned
you had yearned
they had yearned

Future
I will yearn
you will yearn
he/she/it will yearn
we will yearn
you will yearn
they will yearn

Future Perfect
I will have yearned
you will have yearned
he/she/it will have yearned
we will have yearned
you will have yearned
they will have yearned

Future Continuous
I will be yearning
you will be yearning
he/she/it will be yearning
we will be yearning
you will be yearning
they will be yearning

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been yearning
you have been yearning
he/she/it has been yearning
we have been yearning
you have been yearning
they have been yearning

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been yearning
you will have been yearning
he/she/it will have been yearning
we will have been yearning
you will have been yearning
they will have been yearning

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been yearning
you had been yearning
he/she/it had been yearning
we had been yearning
you had been yearning
they had been yearning

Conditional
I would yearn
you would yearn
he/she/it would yearn
we would yearn
you would yearn
they would yearn

Past Conditional
I would have yearned
you would have yearned
he/she/it would have yearned
we would have yearned
you would have yearned
they would have yearned

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	yearn - desire strongly or persistently hanker, long pine, yen, yearn, ache, languish - have a desire for something or someone who is not present; "She ached for a cigarette"; "I am pining for my lover" desire, want - feel or have a desire for; want strongly; "I want to go home now"; "I want my own room"
	2.	yearn - have a desire for something or someone who is not present; "She ached for a cigarette"; "I am pining for my lover" pine, yen, ache, languish die - languish as with love or desire; "She dying for a cigarette"; "I was dying to leave" hanker, long, yearn - desire strongly or persistently
	3.	yearn - have affection for; feel tenderness for cherish, hold dear, treasure, care for - be fond of; be attached to

yearn

verb (often with for) long, desire, pine, pant, hunger, ache, lust, crave, covet, itch, languish, hanker after, have a yen for (informal), eat your heart out over, set your heart upon, suspire (archaic or poetic), would give your eyeteeth for He yearned for freedom.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

yearn

verb

1. To have a strong longing for:

ache, covet, desire, hanker, long, pant, pine, want, wish.

Informal: hone.

2. To experience or express compassion:

ache, commiserate, compassionate, feel, pity, sympathize.

Idioms: be sorry, have pity.

Translations

يَتوقُ إلى

toužit

længes

sich sehnen

kaivata

aspirer aspirer à soupirer

čeznuti

sóvárogvágyódik

òrá

desiderare ardentemente

desidero

ilgotiesskumt

lengte

жаждать стремиться

čeznutižudetiжудетичезнути

längta efterlängta tilllängta tillbaka till

gözünde tütmeközlemek

渴望

yearn

[jɜːn] VI to yearn for [+ native land, person] → añorar; [+ freedom] → anhelar
to yearn to do sth → anhelar hacer algo, ansiar hacer algo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

yearn

[ˈjɜː^rn] vi
to yearn for sth → désirer vivement qch
to yearn to do sth → désirer vivement faire qch

yearn

vi → sich sehnen (after, for nach); to yearn to do something → sich danach sehnen, etw zu tun; to yearn for home → sich nach Hause sehnen; to yearn for somebody → sich nach jdm sehnen, nach jdm verlangen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

yearn

[jɜːn] vi to yearn for sb/sth → desiderare ardentemente qn/qc
to yearn to do sth → struggersi dal desiderio di fare qc

yearn

(jəːn) verb

to feel a great desire; to long. to yearn for an end to the war.

ˈyearning noun

(a) strong desire.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

His heart was torn with desire, although he made no sound, and he continued only to yearn over the companion combing and to listen to the faint sounds of Skipper's progress for'ard.

Leaving this god as a god unliked and not understood, Jerry sadly trotted back to the companionway and yearned his head over the combing in the direction in which he had seen Skipper disappear.

He sat up, just out of range of one restless, beating arm, yearned to come closer and lick again the face of the god who knew him not, and who, he knew, loved him well, and palpitatingly shared and suffered all Skipper's trouble.

View in context

The light shines only on a small space around her; therefore, she needs must yearn towards the unknown; and the voices and shadowy movings which come to her from out the cloudy pillar of inspiration have each one echoes and answers in her own expecting nature.

View in context

Then her conscience reproached her, and she yearned to say something kind and loving; but she judged that this would be construed into a confession that she had been in the wrong, and discipline forbade that.

View in context

The honour and love you bear him is nothing but meet, for God has given him great gifts, and he uses them as the patriarch Joseph did, who, when he was exalted to a place of power and trust, yet yearned with tenderness towards his parent and his younger brother.

For I feel it, I feel it--infinite love is suffering too--yea, in the fulness of knowledge it suffers, it yearns, it mourns; and that is a blind self-seeking which wants to be freed from the sorrow wherewith the whole creation groaneth and travaileth.

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Passepartout had been a sort of vagrant in his early years, and now yearned for repose; but so far he had failed to find it, though he had already served in ten English houses.

View in context

He yearned above all things for experience and felt himself ridiculous because at his age he had not enjoyed that which all fiction taught him was the most important thing in life; but he had the unfortunate gift of seeing things as they were, and the reality which was offered him differed too terribly from the ideal of his dreams.

View in context

They have yearned towards it so long, and so unwaveringly, that I'm convinced it will be reached - and soon - because it has devoured my existence: I am swallowed up in the anticipation of its fulfilment.

View in context

Synopsis: "Yearn to Burn: A Pyrography Master Class: 18 Creative Woodburning Projects with Step-by-Step Instructions" by Simon Easton is essentially a woodburning art masterclass under one cover and featuring 18 themed projects that will build artistic woodburning skills while creating household items, gifts, home decor and more.

Yearn To Burn

The bloodshed and wars in their area have only made them yearn for knowledge, education and jobs even more.