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Definition of yearn

yearn

/jɜːrn/
yearn
Adverb:yearningly
•
Adjective:yearning
•
Past Simple:yearned
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Past Participle:yearned
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Present Participle:yearning
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yearn Lexical Profile

yearn Game Scores & Validity

• verb

1

To have an intense, often wistful or melancholy feeling of longing for something, typically something that one has lost or been separated from.

Example

"After living in a bustling metropolis for a decade, she began to yearn for the quiet simplicity of her childhood village."

2

To be filled with compassion, tenderness, or deep sympathy toward someone (now literary or archaic).

Example

"Seeing the exhausted travelers arrive in the pouring rain, her heart began to yearn with pity for their plight."

Synonyms
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Antonyms
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• Rhymes for yearn

• Nearby Words

yearling
yearlong
yearly
yearn
yearning
yearningly
yearslong

Word Origin & Etymology

From Old English 'giernan' ('to strive, be eager, desire'), derived from the Proto-Germanic adjective '*gernaz' ('eager, greedy'), making it a distant cognate of the German adverb 'gern' ('gladly').

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Yearn. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/yearn
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