Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But I yearned for a way of understanding the world that could make room for both the importance of my past and the existence of my own agency.”

From Slate • Jun. 18, 2026

It was Hockney reaching for the person he yearned to become.

From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026

"My suitcase is packed in my head," she said, explaining that she has yearned to reconnect with everything that she misses about Iran: "the atmosphere, the streets, the neighbours, friends, everything".

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

Mr. Dalrymple cites the example of U Ottama, also called Mahatma Ottama— “a short Buddhist monk with large ears and a scar on his forehead”—who yearned for Burmese union with India.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

He clenched his fist and beat hammer wise on the red wall at his right His lips were tightly compressed and his eyes yearned beneath the fringe of hair.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding