From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishyearnyearn /jɜːn $ jɜːrn/ verb [intransitive] literaryWANT to have a strong desire for something, especially something that is difficult or impossible to get SYN longyearn for Hannah yearned for a child.yearn to be/do something Phil had yearned to be a pilot from an early age.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say long for something or long to do something rather than yearn:She longed for another child.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
yearn• Hannah yearned for a child, and felt desperately sad whenever she saw other women with their babies.• Some who yearn for children adopt orphans, if they can afford to care for them.• Others may yearn for life on a more even keel but they do not feel entitled to it.• The people yearned for peace, and the chance to rebuild their shattered lives.• No patent remedy exists for these, no chicken soup for the soul, however much we may yearn for ready comfort.• You yearn for some one to talk to.• I yearn for the days before I grew so big.• He yearned to gulp down the coffee that remained, he craved to ask for more.• I have always yearned to travel.yearn for• Hannah yearned for a child.Origin yearn Old English giernan 