longing
B2General, literary, emotional. Common in both spoken and written contexts, especially those expressing personal feeling.
Definition
Meaning
A strong, persistent, and often melancholic desire for something unattained, absent, or lost.
A state of yearning that combines desire with a sense of emotional or physical distance from its object; can be for tangible things (a person, a place) or intangible states (happiness, freedom, the past).
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Implies a deep, emotional intensity and often a degree of sadness or nostalgia. It is more profound and enduring than a simple 'want' and suggests the object of desire may be difficult or impossible to attain.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant lexical or grammatical differences. Slight preference for 'yearning' as a near-synonym in some American literary contexts.
Connotations
Equally strong connotations of wistful desire in both varieties.
Frequency
Comparable frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
longing for + [noun/noun phrase]longing + [infinitive clause]longing + [that-clause]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “a longing look”
- “sick with longing”
- “a heart full of longing”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare; might be used metaphorically in leadership/vision contexts (e.g., 'a longing for innovation').
Academic
Used in literary criticism, psychology, and sociology to describe emotional states or cultural phenomena (e.g., 'postcolonial longing for homeland').
Everyday
Common for describing personal feelings for people, places, or experiences (e.g., 'I have a longing for my hometown').
Technical
Not typically used in technical fields.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- She was longing for a proper cup of tea.
- I long to visit the Scottish Highlands again.
American English
- He's been longing to get a new truck.
- They longed for the cooler weather of autumn.
adverb
British English
- She looked longingly at the last piece of cake.
- He gazed longingly out of the office window.
American English
- The child stared longingly at the toy display.
- He thought longingly of his vacation home.
adjective
British English
- He gave her a longing glance as she boarded the train.
- A dog's longing eyes at the dinner table are hard to resist.
American English
- She watched with a longing expression as they served the pie.
- He felt a longing desire to just quit and travel.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I have a longing for my family.
- He felt a longing for his home country.
- A deep longing for the sea made her book a holiday.
- She looked at the old photos with a sense of longing.
- His poems are filled with a longing for a simpler, bygone era.
- Despite her success, she couldn't shake off a lingering longing for her previous life.
- The novel explores the protagonist's existential longing for meaning in a fragmented world.
- Their political movement was fueled by a collective longing for cultural restoration and lost identity.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a LONG road you gaze down, INtently Gazing (LONG-ING) at something far away you wish you could reach.
Conceptual Metaphor
DESIRE IS A FORCE (A longing pulls at you), DESIRE IS HUNGER (an aching longing), DESIRE IS A JOURNEY (a longing for a distant shore).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct translation of 'тоска' (тоска) in all contexts, as 'longing' is less pathological and more specifically desire-focused.
- Do not confuse with 'скучать' (to miss); 'longing' is the noun for the feeling, not the verb for the action.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'longing' as a verb (the verb is 'to long').
- Using it for trivial desires (e.g., 'I have a longing for a biscuit' is too strong).
- Incorrect preposition: 'longing about/at' instead of 'longing for'.
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following sentences uses 'longing' INCORRECTLY?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is primarily melancholic or bittersweet. It describes a strong desire, but one often mixed with sadness because the object is absent, lost, or unattainable.
'Desire' is a broader, more neutral term for wanting something. 'Longing' is a specific type of intense, emotional, and often sad desire for something distant or unlikely.
It is generally too emotional and personal for standard professional communication. In business contexts, words like 'desire', 'aim', or 'objective' are more appropriate.
The standard preposition is 'for' (e.g., 'a longing for home'). When used with the verb 'to long', it also takes 'for' ('I long for vacation') or an infinitive ('I long to see you').
Collections
Part of a collection
Nuanced Emotions
C2 · 48 words · Precise vocabulary for complex emotional states.