MEANING
To feel a strong longing for something absent or desired.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- yearn for home
- yearn to return
On the page
She yearned for the life she had dismissed as ordinary.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- yearn
- Past tense
- yearned
- Past participle
- yearned
- Present participle
- yearning
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- yearn
- Present continuous
- am/is/are yearning
- Present perfect
- have/has yearned
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been yearning
- Past
- yearned
- Past continuous
- was/were yearning
- Past perfect
- had yearned
- Past perfect continuous
- had been yearning
- Future
- will yearn
- Future continuous
- will be yearning
- Future perfect
- will have yearned
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been yearning
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: yearn; yearns; yearned; yearned; yearning Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, character, dialogue. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: yearns.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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