From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishyearningyearn‧ing /ˈjɜːnɪŋ $ ˈjɜːr-/ noun [countable, uncountable] literary WANTa strong desire for something SYN longingyearning for a yearning for travelyearning to do something He had a deep yearning to return to his home town.
Examples from the Corpus
yearning• This is a yearning which mankind insists shall be fulfilled and it has a specialised organ for doing this.• It was a yearning far more powerful than any yearning of the senses.• How could she feel her whole body yearning for him, when logic and reason told her that it shouldn't be?• Call it yearning, or more realistically call it leching or lusting.• Already my body was beginning to feel restless: demanding reunification with the object of its yearning.• We now look at the gothic exaggeration and moody drama of Victorian landscapes and we learn of their romantic yearnings.• Yet despite the vibrant colours Modigliani captured something of the wistful yearning of his nature.yearning for• This yearning for freedom is not going to disappear overnight. 