yearn
[verb]
Synonyms: long, ache, covet, crave, desire, hanker, hunger, itch

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Antonyms: dread
Related Words: covet, desire, wish, pant

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

yearn /jɜːn $ jɜːrn/ verb [intransitive]
[Language: Old English; Origin: giernan]
literary to have a strong desire for something, especially something that is difficult or impossible to get Synonym : long
yearn for
Hannah yearned for a child.
yearn to be/do something
Phil had yearned to be a pilot from an early age.

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In everyday English, people usually say long for something or long to do something rather than yearn:
She longed for another child.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

yearn
verb
ADV. secretly | still
PREP. after He still yearned after her, even after all these years.
for She yearned for children of her own.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲