intr.v., yearned, yearn·ing, yearns.
- To have a strong, often melancholy desire.
- To feel deep pity, sympathy, or tenderness: yearned over the child's fate.
[Middle English yernen, from Old English geornan, giernan.]
yearner yearn'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
