yearn
verb /jɜːn/
/jɜːrn/
[intransitive] (literary)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they yearn | /jɜːn/ /jɜːrn/ |
| he / she / it yearns | /jɜːnz/ /jɜːrnz/ |
| past simple yearned | /jɜːnd/ /jɜːrnd/ |
| past participle yearned | /jɜːnd/ /jɜːrnd/ |
| -ing form yearning | /ˈjɜːnɪŋ/ /ˈjɜːrnɪŋ/ |
- to want something very much, especially when it is very difficult to get synonym long
- yearn (for something/somebody) The people yearned for peace.
- There was a yearning look in his eyes.
- She yearned for children of her own.
- yearn to do something She yearned to escape from her office job.
- I’ve always yearned to go stock car racing.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- secretly
- desperately
- still
- …
- after
- for
Word OriginOld English giernan, from a Germanic base meaning ‘eager’.