From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlonginglong‧ing /ˈlɒŋɪŋ $ ˈlɒːŋɪŋ/ noun [singular, uncountable] WANTa strong feeling of wanting something or someone She looked back with longing on the good old days.longing for His heart was filled with longing for Cynthia.longing to She felt a longing to throw herself into his arms.
Examples from the Corpus
longing• She had a sudden desperate longing to relive last night - at least, the part up until when they had said goodnight.• The piece lacks the desperate longing of the composer's other works.• Gentle longings, spoken in such plain and honest words, must not be permitted to remain unanswered.• Weasel, whipped in a taut ball of his longing licked Hilde's obstinate body with yellow gazes.• Surely, there is nothing unusual about our own inchoate longings.• Other people can not fill the inner longing for recognition that is sought.• She could have wept for the agony of raw longing that burned through her.• But men can come to terms with their suppressed longings.• For a moment, she ached with longing - then, just as suddenly, revolted against them.longing for• a longing for home 