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long

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adverb

long

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noun

long

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word long distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of long are hanker, hunger, pine, thirst, and yearn. While all these words mean "to have a strong desire for something," long implies a wishing with one's whole heart and often a striving to attain.

longed for some rest

When would hanker be a good substitute for long?

Although the words hanker and long have much in common, hanker suggests the uneasy promptings of unsatisfied appetite or desire.

always hankering for money

How are the words hunger and thirst related as synonyms of long?

Both hunger and thirst imply an insistent or impatient craving or a compelling need.

hungered for a business of his own
thirsted for power

When can pine be used instead of long?

The meanings of pine and long largely overlap; however, pine implies a languishing or a fruitless longing for what is impossible.

pined for a lost love

When is it sensible to use yearn instead of long?

The words yearn and long are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, yearn suggests an eager, restless, or painful longing.

yearned for a stage career

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of long
Adjective
The look was a one shoulder gown with silk taffeta that swaddled around the body but there was a long train. Mikelle Street, WWD, 11 Feb. 2025 The world's finest geographers, experts who study the Earth's natural environment, have concluded a decades long council and determined that a Great Lake deserves to be named after a great state. Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
Adverb
Smart algorithms that existed long before the current AI boom are coming forward with new labels, and this might be one of them. Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 11 Feb. 2025 Scientists have long warned that this could disrupt the virtuous cycle through which trees fuel rain clouds by releasing water vapor. Alex Cuadros, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2025
Noun
The most significant is that this is a collection of songs that pay homage to the history of Puerto Rico, the homeland of its architect, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who, after several years away, longs to return home. Joan Escutia, Vogue, 10 Jan. 2025 Coming in at just one-minute long, the clip first shared to K. Dot’s official YouTube page begins with the camera entering a large room featuring two cars on either side and what appears to be a large skylight resembling a portal between them. Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 22 Nov. 2024
Verb
For fans longing for regular NASCAR TV content those wishes are coming true. Greg Engle, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025 Higgins has longed for a long-term deal and nearly held out of the 2024 season to get one. Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 12 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for long 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for long
Adjective
  • However, as the comet recedes from the sun, planetary perturbations will make the orbit even more elongated, so the next return to perihelion (of whatever of it is that is still left of it) will be about 600,000 years hence.
    Joe Rao, Space.com, 27 Jan. 2025
  • Another catchy song with elongated, ethereal harmonies that capture the temptation of infidelity.
    Bryan West, The Tennessean, 18 Apr. 2024
Adjective
  • Vitale, one of the most recognizable voices in US sports announcing known for his bombastic style and love of the game, had previously had lengthy battles with lymphoma, vocal cord and lymph node cancer.
    Jacob Lev, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025
  • Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for Bass, praised Soboroff’s lengthy record in the city, working to develop Playa Vista, bringing Staples Center — now Crypto.com Arena — to downtown and serving on the Board of Police Commissioners.
    Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, the two NASA astronauts who rode to the cosmos months ago on a Boeing Starliner spacecraft, aren't really spending their days pining to return to Earth.
    Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025
  • Christine Baumgartner is not pining over her ex-husband, Kevin Costner.
    Sophie Hessekiel, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Some feature high waists to elongate legs or pleats to conjure old-school élan worthy of Cary Grant.
    Charlie Teasdale, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
  • The fragment, which was cleaved from its fecal parent with a pair of wire cutters, resembles a chunk of light-colored concrete with darker, elongate inclusions that Chin recognizes as bone.
    Karen Wright, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
Adjective
  • Killorn proceeded to the dot and launched a shot off the far post and in for his 11th goal of the campaign.
    Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 2 Feb. 2025
  • From far Western Europe, the partial lunar eclipse phase preceding totality will be most of the main event.
    Jamie Carter, Space.com, 13 Jan. 2025
Adverb
  • Leon, even at this early stage, is a dashing buccaneer of a left back, forever setting off in search of adventure in the final third.
    Jack Lang, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
  • Rih’s forever It-Girl status stems from her ability to make a piece her own.
    Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 4 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Despite being a source of criticism from some viewers who yearned to hear songs from earlier in his career, that was intentional, too.
    Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2025
  • Investors have been yearning for a new mass-market model from the company to reinvigorate sales.
    Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • But many at the gathering at Siegel's extended relatives' home in a kibbutz in central Israel expressed nervousness about the war resuming before all the hostages were freed.
    Daniel Estrin, NPR, 3 Feb. 2025
  • There can be no extended lapses if Minnesota is to contend with the nation’s top teams.
    Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 3 Feb. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near long

Cite this Entry

“Long.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/long. Accessed 17 Feb. 2025.

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