as in desire
a strong wish for something
by four o'clock in the afternoon, I usually experience a strong longing for chocolate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pining
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of longing
Angeline Jane Bernabe, ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026
The notion of travel had been reduced to memory and longing.
—Ron Stodghill, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for longing
Noun
The trailer opens with Moana longing for more beyond the reef of her home island, Motunui, as her grandmother, Gramma Tala (Rena Owen), shares a story.
—Angeline Jane Bernabe, ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026
The notion of travel had been reduced to memory and longing.
—Ron Stodghill, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
Werther, in his self-delusion, embodies another Goethean type, the longing man—ordinary, but convinced of the extraordinariness of his feelings.
—Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for longing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for longing
Noun
-
Sports, after all, can be a vehicle for shaping our values and expressing our desires.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
As the war in Iran rages on, both rising oil prices and consumers’ decreasing desire to jet-set in uncertain times hang like a dark cloud over the industry, threatening to upend air travel across the world.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
For a person struggling with substance abuse disorder, one strong craving can be the catalyst for a patient to completely abandon sobriety.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Poor sleep can drive cravings that will exacerbate a perimenopausal increase in appetite, so adequate rest is key.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Starring Elordi and Barry Keoghan, Fennell’s dark comedy about class resentment and covetous destruction was sold on the promise of erotic excess.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
9 Feb. 2026
-
For most players, that amount of storage is realistically enough for all but the most covetous data hoarders.—
Matt Kamen,
Wired News,
3 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Desperate from thirst, Husayn rode out of the camp with his infant son to appeal for water, but an enemy archer shot an arrow through the child’s neck.—
Mary Thurlkill,
The Conversation,
30 Mar. 2026
-
As spring replaces winter’s chill, more people are reaching for a mix of spirits and mixers to quench their thirst.—
Alexis Simmerman,
Austin American Statesman,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Born in Naples in 1943, the son of a seamstress and a railway employee who was also an accomplished and ambitious painter, Starnone began his working life as a schoolteacher.—
Tim Parks,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The grant also supported an ambitious effort to bring the wild descendants of McCloud salmon back to California from New Zealand.—
Rachel Becker,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Series creator Connor Hines, who penned the finale, and director Anthony Hemingway resist the urge to exploit the crash itself (thank God).—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Certainly, some people have a drive to collect, an urge to connoisseurship that seems innate.—
Mark Ellwood,
Robb Report,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Leo moon sparks your restless desires for fun and adventure.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Deep inside every atom lies a restless world of quarks and gluons—the tiny building blocks that hold everything together, from rocks to stars.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Similarly, certain medical conditions and symptoms can also impose consistent hunger, including hypothyroidism, PMS, and perimenopause.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Thousands of miles from the Middle East, in Brazil, South Asia and East Africa, even small increases in the price of growing and transporting food can deepen hunger and strain already fragile food systems, where millions are already struggling to afford basic staples.—
Freddie Clayton,
NBC news,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Longing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/longing. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
