pining 1 of 3

noun

as in longing
a strong wish for something a sudden pining to have steak for dinner

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pining

2 of 3

adjective

as in covetous

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

pining

3 of 3

verb

present participle of pine
as in yearning

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 pining
Noun
Classic stories of pining and desire are also getting their share of attention. — Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 9 Sep. 2026 Reporter and Army vet Mare (Chelsea Frei) does a little secret pining for the new boss. — Sara Netzley, Entertainment Weekly, 2 July 2026 De la Fuente has received a lot of criticism from the media and Spanish fans online for Monday’s performance, and there is a lot of nostalgic pining for former assistant manager Pablo Amo, who left the coaching staff in February 2025 but who many say was the real mastermind of the Euro 2024 squad. — Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 21 June 2026 Zohran Mamdani has just moved in, and considering the thoughtful aesthetic details of his campaign—which his stylish first lady, artist Rama Duwaji, had a hand in designing—we’re pining for a look at how the couple decorates their new digs. — Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pining
  1. longing
  2. covetous
  3. craving
  4. desire
  5. urge
  6. thirst
Noun
  • The Incredible Hulk, the Thing, He-Man, Superman—these cartoon heroes must fulfill some kind of longing.
    — Gavin Francis, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Despite the claims of any number of charlatans who prey on the American brand of cuddly benighted ignorance, the universe will not manifest an alternate reality for anyone who simply wishes for it with sufficient longing.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of longing
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
Definition of covetous
Noun
  • Keep one in your freezer for whenever your pumpkin pie craving strikes.
    — Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Jennifer King is getting brain surgery at Allegheny General Hospital to hopefully control her opioid addiction cravings.
    — Meghan Schiller, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of craving
Noun
  • Alfonso recalled their discussions about how setting and movement could express the desire to survive.
    — Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The desire for these transformative products was never innate, and LACMA’s exhibition zeroes in on that idea from the start.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of desire
Noun
  • But resist the urge to throw every brightening ingredient at the problem.
    — Glamour, Glamour, 2 Oct. 2026
  • In their eloquence and their ways of avoiding easy comfort, the poems also deal with the hushed experience of surviving someone else’s death and fulfill the urge to say something not only real and true but formal and exact, as though for a ceremony.
    — Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of urge
Noun
  • Naturally, many of those discussions gravitated toward data centers and AI’s thirst for electrons.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Advanced signs include anxiety, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, extreme thirst paired with panic at the sight of fluids, heavy saliva and aggressive thrashing or biting.
    — The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of thirst

Browse Nearby Words

pinholes
pining
pining (away)
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Cite this Entry

“Pining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pining. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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