1
as in feeling (for)
to have sympathy for
I ache for those people who have to spend the holidays alone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in craving
to have an earnest wish to own or enjoy
aching for some quiet time to himself
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aching (for)
Verb
-
While the crowd skews young, the hotel also attracts business travelers craving a post-conference buzz.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026 -
After a few long years of touring behind that record, she felt burnt out—and by the time COVID shut down Melbourne’s music scene, Vandal was craving disconnection, a pull to go offline.—
Erica Campbell,
Pitchfork,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
There is nothing pitying and also nothing airbrushed in the pictures—just the occasional haze of a misty morning or the blurry tremor of a burning brush pile.—
Casey Cep,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
-
Twenty-first-century indie shaped the identities of many Millennials, but it’s now often talked about with pitying nostalgia—as the bygone style of hipsters with handlebar mustaches pretending to be countercultural while making easy-listening music for hotel lobbies.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Suzuki is a young beatnik of Greenwich Village, a moral, sharp-witted kid wanting a place where children can be taken seriously, free to manage their own affairs.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
Plavsic — hailing from Urban Decay Cosmetics — launched Ilia in 2011, wanting to fill the white space in contemporary beauty.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
9 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Aching (for).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aching%20%28for%29. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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