Longing
Longing noun - A strong wish for something.
Usage example: by four o'clock in the afternoon, I usually experience a strong longing for chocolate
Yearning is a synonym for longing in desire topic. In some cases you can use "Yearning" instead the word "Longing" as a noun or an adjective, when it comes to topics like desirous, sentimental, sad, weariness. popular alternative
Yearning
Yearning noun - A strong wish for something.
Usage example: had a sudden yearning for something sweet
Longing is a synonym for yearning in desire topic. You can use "Longing" instead the word "Yearning" as a noun or an adjective, if it concerns topics such as feeling, hunger, sentimental, sad. popular alternative
Nearby Words: yearned, yearningly
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
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Shout-Out: "Bedtime Story" was written by Björk, who would use the lyrics: "and inside/ we're all still wet/ longing and yearning (...) and all that you've ever learned/ try to forget" for her own song "Sweet Intuition".
Source: Music / Bedtime Stories
Cite this Source
Yearning and Longing. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/longing/yearning
Longing & Yearning. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/longing/yearning>.
Yearning or Longing. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/longing/yearning.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "longing" and "yearning" have occurred on timeline