longing

LAWNG-ing/ˈlɔːŋɪŋ/UKLONG-ing/ˈlɒŋɪŋ/

3 meanings of longing

1
nouncountable or uncountable
A deep, quiet wish for something or someone, often mixed with sadness.
Like missing someone so much that it gently aches inside.
A longing for home filled her as the train pulled out of the station.
He felt a quiet longing whenever that old song came on the radio.
Similaryearning, pining, wistfulness, hankering, nostalgia
Oppositeindifference
Note
2
verb
Present participle of long. Use this form for the ongoing act of wanting something very much.
She is longing for the school holidays to begin.
They were longing to see their family again after months apart.
Note
3
noununcountable
Buying a stock or asset because you expect its price to go up later.
Longing tech stocks right before the good news made him a lot of money.
For a new investor, longing a few big companies is safer than betting against them.
Similarbuying
Oppositeshorting

longing is a form of long

long, verb: To want something very much, especially something far off or hard to get. Full entry

Forms: longlongs he/she/itlonging -ing formlonged past tense, past participle
Spelling: long → longing: add -ing

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of longing apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meaning 2

From Old English langiende, the '-ing' form of a word meaning 'to desire' or 'long for'.

Meanings 1, 3

From Old English longung, meaning 'longing' or 'desire', built from a word meaning 'to long for'.