pining away
Wasting from longing
Pining away describes a gradual decline from longing or grief—wasting in body or spirit because of unfulfilled desire or loss.
Someone pines away for a lost love, a distant homeland, or something irretrievably gone: She pined away after he left, barely eating for weeks.
The phrase emphasizes slow deterioration rather than sudden collapse.
- desiringStrongly wanting something
- languishingGrowing weak, losing vigor
- longingIntense, persistent desire
- griefIntense sorrow from loss
- unrequited loveRomantic feelings not returned
carrying a torch · homesickness · yearning · aching · missing · emotion · sorrowing · melancholy · heartache · eating one's heart out · mooning · wistfulness · forlorn · nostalgia · mourning · hankering · craving · lovesickness
- heartacheheartache, heartbreak, lovesick, lovesickness, lovelorn
- sadnesssad, unhappy, grief, sorrowful, heartbroken
pining awaythriving
Succeeding vigorously
flourishing · blossoming · full of life · prospering · reveling
pining awaythriving
Succeeding vigorously
flourishing · blooming · recovering · bouncing back · on the mend