LONGING Synonyms: 170 Similar and Opposite Words

longing 1 of 3

noun

ˈlȯŋ-iŋ

Definition of longing

as in desire

a strong wish for something by four o'clock in the afternoon, I usually experience a strong longing for chocolate

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

longing

2 of 3

adjective

as in pining

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

longing

3 of 3

verb

present participle of long

as in yearning

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 longing

Noun

Every now and then, in the early hours of the morning, Kumar sits in the stillness to watch the fishermen return with their catch and feels a pang of longing. — Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026 Several of my favorite poetry collections capture the nuanced process of breaking up, with its extreme states of longing, anger, and sorrow—while also expanding the capacity for joy, pleasure, and compassion. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026

Adjective

Werther, in his self-delusion, embodies another Goethean type, the longing man—ordinary, but convinced of the extraordinariness of his feelings. — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for longing

Recent Examples of Synonyms for longing

Noun

The idea of a child receiving an injection for weight loss strikes at something deep — a desire to let children be children, free from adult burdens.

— Babak J. Orandi, STAT, 1 Oct. 2026
His desire echoes that of his boss, BBC Studios Productions chief Zai Bennett, which is to invest in around two to three of these new-look talent labels per year.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of desire

Adjective

Starring Elordi and Barry Keoghan, Fennell’s dark comedy about class resentment and covetous destruction was sold on the promise of erotic excess.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 9 Feb. 2026
For most players, that amount of storage is realistically enough for all but the most covetous data hoarders.

— Matt Kamen, Wired News, 3 Aug. 2025

Definition of covetous

Noun

Although The Love Witch played around 100 theaters upon its 2016 debut, will audiences’ cravings for something different be enough to secure a wide release for The Face of Horror a decade later?

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026
Needing coffee immediately upon waking and experiencing afternoon fatigue, irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances, and sugar cravings.

— Marie Bladt, Vogue, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of craving

Adjective

And over the next two decades, the games became more ambitious and elaborate, set in various time periods, even the future.

— Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026
The most ambitious study of Flock's system so far is a recent one by University of South Carolina crime researchers Ian Adams and Scott Mourtgos.

— Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of ambitious

Noun

Naturally, many of those discussions gravitated toward data centers and AI’s thirst for electrons.

— Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026
Advanced signs include anxiety, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, extreme thirst paired with panic at the sight of fluids, heavy saliva and aggressive thrashing or biting.

— The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of thirst

Adjective

Recorded in Texas and rooted in the sound of the border, Bobby Pulido’s enduring classic turns restless longing into warm, danceable energy.

— qygwork, Billboard, 28 Sep. 2026
But just like other Caribbean giants such as Puerto Rico’s Ismael Rivera and the Dominican Republic’s Johnny Ventura, Sparrow’s restless creative persona transcended the limits of the dance genres that blossomed around him.

— Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of restless

Noun

But resist the urge to throw every brightening ingredient at the problem.

— Glamour, Glamour, 2 Oct. 2026
In their eloquence and their ways of avoiding easy comfort, the poems also deal with the hushed experience of surviving someone else’s death and fulfill the urge to say something not only real and true but formal and exact, as though for a ceremony.

— Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of urge

Adjective

The film deals with an urban legend that a Nevada reservoir is a time portal, and the aimless group of teenage best friends who become obsessed with going back in history.

— Brent Lang, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026
There are many ways to become obsessed with life’s frame rate, with the varying speed of an action and the way that time can be sliced or spun in the presentation.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of obsessed

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“Longing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/longing. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of longing

noun

adjective

verb

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