— yearner , n.
/yerrn/ , v.i.
1. to have an earnest or strong desire; long: to yearn for a quiet vacation.
2. to feel tenderness; be moved or attracted: They yearned over their delicate child.
[ bef. 900; ME yernen, OE giernan deriv. of georn eager; akin to ON girna to desire, Gk chaírein to rejoice, Skt háryati (he) desires ]
Syn. 1. YEARN, LONG, HANKER, PINE all mean to feel a powerful desire for something. YEARN stresses the depth and passionateness of a desire: to yearn to get away and begin a new life; to yearn desperately for recognition. LONG implies a wholehearted desire for something that is or seems unattainable: to long to relive one's childhood; to long for the warmth of summer. HANKER suggests a restless or incessant craving to fulfill some urge or desire: to hanker for a promotion; to hanker after fame and fortune. PINE adds the notion of physical or emotional suffering as a result of the real or apparent hopelessness of one's desire: to pine for one's native land; to pine for a lost love.