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
as in pining
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of longing
Shayla Love, New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2026
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are paired together in a gorgeous-yet-hollow film about lust, love and longing.
—Amanda Luberto, AZCentral.com, 11 Feb. 2026
Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for longing
Noun
For me, these wordless noises were clearly about sadness and longing.
—Shayla Love, New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2026
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are paired together in a gorgeous-yet-hollow film about lust, love and longing.
—Amanda Luberto, AZCentral.com, 11 Feb. 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 three women, all widows, were brought together by their shared grief and desire to help others in the same situation.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
22 Feb. 2026
-
The difficulty lies in aligning financial reality, operational necessity, and emotional desire into a decision that makes sense five and 10 years from now.—
Allen Buchanan,
Oc Register,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
These are simple enough to make on a busy weeknight but will satisfy those burger cravings.—
Phoebe Evans,
Southern Living,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Seems that in this age of digital everything there’s a strong craving for a little dose of analog.—
Maggie Meyer Glisan,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 Feb. 2026
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
Noun
-
Jackson’s thirst for attention began in childhood.—
Johanna Neuman,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
-
While uniting the community worldwide, the fasting tradition is meant to help Muslims experience the hunger and thirst of the poor and foster empathy and generosity.—
Isa Almeida,
Oklahoman,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The goal was simple, but ambitious.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026
-
As medal designs have grown more ambitious, the physical demands have grown with them.—
Eric Sullivan,
Scientific American,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Its protein and fat content promote satiety, which can also reduce the urge to reach for sugary, quickly digested snacks that would cause more dramatic fluctuations.—
Lauren Panoff,
Verywell Health,
17 Feb. 2026
-
All throughout the film, there are images of terrible things being done to other creatures, as if to express the humans’ futile attempts to tamp down their natural urges.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The Nigerian city of more than 20 million people is renowned for its hustle and bustle, its restless energy and commercial drive — a place where honks from signature yellow passenger buses fill the air.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Gainsbourg plays Charlotte’s protective sister, while Hellmann stars as a restless artist caught between love and loyalty and McAlpine plays a young aspiring dancer.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Above all, take on a volunteer shift serving food to really get to know what hunger looks like.—
Annemarie Dooling,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Congress has dismantled one of the nation’s most effective protections against hunger while extending tax cuts to wealthy Americans and corporations.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Longing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/longing. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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