yearn

Plural: yearns

Verb

Verb Forms: yearned, yearning, yearns

To have an intense feeling of longing for something.
desire strongly or persistently
have a desire for something or someone who is not present
have affection for; feel tenderness for
To have a strong desire for something or to do something; to long for or to do something.
To have a strong desire for something or to do something; to long for or to do something.
To long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia.
Of music, words, etc.: to express strong desire or longing.
To have strong feelings of affection, love, sympathy, etc., toward someone.
To be distressed or pained; to grieve; to mourn.
Often followed by out: to perform (music) which conveys or say (words) which express strong desire or longing.
To have a strong desire or longing (for something or to do something).
To cause (someone) to have strong feelings of affection, love, sympathy, etc.; also, to grieve or pain (someone).
Of milk: to curdle, especially in the cheesemaking process.
Of cheese: to be made from curdled milk.
To curdle (milk), especially in the cheesemaking process.
To make (cheese) from curdled milk.

Noun

A strong desire or longing; a yearning, a yen.

Examples

All I yearn for is a simple life.
I YEARN for the day I can consistently play seven-letter words in Words With Friends.

Origin / Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English yernen, yern (“to express or feel desire; to desire, long or wish for; to lust after; to ask or demand for”) [and other forms], from Old English ġeornan (“to desire, yearn; to beg”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *girnijan (“to be eager for, desire”), from Proto-Germanic *girnijaną (“to desire, want”), from *gernaz (“eager, willing”) (from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to yearn for”)) + *-janą (suffix forming factitive verbs from adjectives).
The noun is derived from the verb.

Synonyms

ache, hanker, languish, long, pine, yen, appetency, appetite, craving, earn, hankering, hunger, impulse, itch, jones, letch, lickerish, longing, lust, pant, pining, run, salivate, sigh, thirst, urge, yearning

Scrabble Score: 8

yearn: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
yearn: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
yearn: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

yearn: valid Words With Friends Word