as in longing
a strong wish for something
had a sudden yearning for something sweet
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in crying
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of yearning
Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
For roughly the first half, the songs are held together by a sort of yearning — for a person, for the open road, or for the idea of freedom.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
D’Angelo rebuffed our yearning for a traditional career long enough to eke out a delightfully unpredictable final decade.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2025
Norwood, a wide-eyed young woman with a yearning for Hollywood success, burst into the collective consciousness over the weekend when Mel’s report from a Zurich Summit panel in Switzerland exploded online.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for yearning
Noun
The breathless discussion about that photograph felt almost like a yearning for the past, when consensus could be built through celluloid.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
For roughly the first half, the songs are held together by a sort of yearning — for a person, for the open road, or for the idea of freedom.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
D’Angelo rebuffed our yearning for a traditional career long enough to eke out a delightfully unpredictable final decade.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2025
Norwood, a wide-eyed young woman with a yearning for Hollywood success, burst into the collective consciousness over the weekend when Mel’s report from a Zurich Summit panel in Switzerland exploded online.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for yearning
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yearning
Noun
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Teller took to heart the classic Greek playwright Aristophanes’ myth of love — that humans were born as a fusion of two bodies and later separated as punishment from the gods, only to spend their lives looking — and longing — for their other half.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
31 Oct. 2025
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Here, Farrell’s deadpan becomes a vessel not of submerged romantic longing, but of a mixture of guilt, grief, indecision, and rage.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
But his crying scene in Ford v Ferrari is one for the ages.—
Michael Granberry,
Dallas News,
17 Jan. 2020
Noun
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When chocolate cravings hit, this cake is the answer.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
29 Oct. 2025
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From hearty whole wheat to soft sourdough and sweet Hawaiian, there’s a Half Loaf for every craving.—
Adam Mills,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The most pressing question for riders, of course, is what changes customers can expect.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Oct. 2025
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For streamers, the issue of local investment is becoming more and more pressing, with most countries now working on some form of levy or quota that matches, at least in part, the content obligations placed on local broadcasters.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But Mamdani also shares Obama’s desire to reach out to adversaries and be a unifying force in politics.—
Ben Adler,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
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But all of these tropes, from the beard to the villain, are predicated on the idea that sexuality and desire are always legible on the body.—
Kelly Foster Lundquist,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Due to her insistent efforts, Yennefer’s army is growing, giving The Witcher the chance to namecheck several old friends from the show’s run, including Marti Södergren and the priestess Nenneke.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
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Though Love is insistent that Hole will not reunite, she’s linked up with Auf der Maur over the years (sadly, their appearance at a Planned Parenthood benefit was cancelled due to the pandemic).—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The sudden sting, the constant urge to run to the bathroom and the interruptions to work or intimacy can feel both embarrassing and unsettling.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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Vande Kolk could empathize with Ryan’s urge to escape his life.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Singing this material with players who improvise — solos changing, every version being a little different — taught me about that urgent live-ensemble space where everyone’s living and dying by the next player onstage.—
Shirley Halperin,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2025
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This urgent political thriller about Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh opened the 2025 Venice International Film Festival before moving on to Telluride, Toronto, New York and London.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Yearning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yearning. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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