DictionaryAI

yearning

SayYUR-ning/ˈjɝnɪŋ/UK/ˈjɜːnɪŋ/

Pluralyearnings

3 meanings of yearning

Practice

  1. 1
    a deep wishnouncountable or uncountable
    A sad or dreamy feeling of wanting something very much.

    He felt a yearning for the small town where he grew up.

    On rainy days I get a yearning for summer.

    Similarlonging, desire, hankering, ache

    Note
  2. 2
    wanting badlyverb
    Present participle and gerund of yearn. Use it after words like is and was, as in she is yearning for home.

    The kids are yearning for summer vacation.

    After months away, she was yearning to see her family.

    Note
  3. 3
    making cheesenounarchaicScotlanduncountable
    A substance that makes milk thick and lumpy so it can become cheese.

    The dairymaid added the yearning, and soon the milk set into soft curds.

    Without yearning, the milk would not turn thick enough for cheese.

    Note

yearning is a form of yearn

yearn, verb: To want something very much, often something you do not have or that is gone. Full entry

Forms
yearnyearns he/she/ityearning -ing formyearned past tense, past participle
Spelling
yearn → yearning: add -ing

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Origins

Meanings 1–2

It comes from Old English and is made from yearn plus -ing. Yearn goes back to an old word meaning “eager, willing”.

Meaning 3

It comes from Old English words meaning “run together” or “curdled”, from a verb meaning “to run”. It is related to rennet and run.