Words / C2

Y-URN/jɜːn/

To yearn is to want something, often out of reach, with feeling: yearn for peace, yearn to leave. Long for is the everyday cousin; want is plainer. Yarn is a story or wool — comic mix-up. Yearning is the noun. Do not yearn for a biscuit in a lab report.

Meaning

To want something, especially something you cannot have, with strong feeling.

Examples

• “The letters yearn for a quieter post, not a grander title.”
• “The letters yearn for a quieter post, not a louder title.”
• “Yearn for + noun; yearn to + infinitive. Everyday: long for. Mix-up: yarn (tale / wool).”

Good to know

Long for, often in vain. yearn for / yearn to. Everyday: long for. Noun: yearning. Mix-up: yarn. Not a casual snack wish in formal prose.

Near in meaning

long

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