To yearn is to want something very deeply. It usually carries a sense that the thing is hard or impossible to have, so the wanting can feel tender, sad, or aching.
Core meaning
To yearn means to feel a strong, often persistent desire or longing for someone or something.
The word often implies emotion and even emotional pain, not just simple wanting.
Emotional tone
Yearning tends to mix desire with feelings like wistfulness, sadness, or emptiness, because the object of desire feels distant or out of reach.
It can also include tenderness or compassion, such as when someone’s heart “yearns” toward another person in care or love.
Common uses
People often yearn for things like love, freedom, peace, belonging, or a different life situation.
The word can also describe deep longing for a person who is absent or for a time or place that is gone.
Related words
“Long for” or “hunger for” are close in meaning but “yearn” usually sounds more emotional and intense.
Older uses also connect “yearn” with being pained or distressed, showing how closely it is tied to inner emotional strain.
