Yawning — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom

utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/jˈɔːnɪŋ/

🇬🇧British English

/jˈɔːnɪŋ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/jˈɔːnɪŋ/

2 syllables Say it as /jˈɔːnɪŋ/.

Examples

he could not suppress a yawn
the yawning in the audience told him it was time to stop
he apologized for his oscitancy

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

oscitance yawn oscitancy gape drowsy oscitant yaw

Parts of Speech

noun	an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom “he could not suppress a yawn”
verb	utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired “The child yawned during the long performance”
verb	be wide open “the deep gaping canyon”
adjective	gaping open as if threatening to engulf someone or something “the yawning mine shaft”
adjective	with the mouth wide open indicating boredom or sleepiness “a yawning congregation”
adjective	showing lack of attention or boredom “the yawning congregation”

Word Forms

yawn	verb	utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired
oscitant	adjective	showing lack of attention or boredom
yawn	noun	an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom
yawner	noun	a person who yawns
yawning	noun	an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom
oscitancy	noun	drowsiness and dullness manifested by yawning

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Gähnen

ein unwillkürliches Einatmen durch einen weit geöffneten Mund; wird meist durch Müdigkeit oder Langeweile ausgelöst

🇫🇷French

bâillement

une inspiration involontaire par la bouche grande ouverte ; généralement déclenché par la fatigue ou l’ennui

🇪🇸Spanish

bostezando

una inhalación involuntaria de aire a través de la boca bien abierta; generalmente provocado por fatiga o aburrimiento

🇮🇹Italian

sbadigliando

un'assunzione involontaria di respiro attraverso la bocca spalancata; solitamente innescato dalla stanchezza o dalla noia

🇳🇱Dutch

geeuwen

een onvrijwillige inademing door een wijd open mond; meestal veroorzaakt door vermoeidheid of verveling

🇵🇹Portuguese

bocejando

uma inspiração involuntária através da boca bem aberta; geralmente desencadeado por fadiga ou tédio

🇷🇺Russian

зевая

непроизвольный вдох через широко открытый рот; обычно вызвано усталостью или скукой

India

🇮🇳Hindi

जम्हाई लेना

चौड़े खुले मुंह से अनैच्छिक रूप से सांस लेना; आमतौर पर थकान या बोरियत से शुरू होता है

🇮🇳Tamil

கொட்டாவி விடுதல்

பரந்த திறந்த வாய் வழியாக தன்னிச்சையாக சுவாசத்தை உட்கொள்வது; பொதுவாக சோர்வு அல்லது சலிப்பால் தூண்டப்படுகிறது

🇮🇳Telugu

ఆవలింత

విశాలమైన నోరు ద్వారా అసంకల్పిత శ్వాస తీసుకోవడం; సాధారణంగా అలసట లేదా విసుగుతో ప్రేరేపించబడుతుంది

🇮🇳Marathi

जांभई

उघड्या तोंडातून अनैच्छिक श्वास घेणे; सहसा थकवा किंवा कंटाळवाणेपणा द्वारे चालना दिली जाते

🇮🇳Gujarati

બગાસું ખાવું

ખુલ્લા મોં દ્વારા અનૈચ્છિક શ્વાસ લેવો; સામાન્ય રીતે થાક અથવા કંટાળાને કારણે થાય છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಆಕಳಿಕೆ

ವಿಶಾಲ ತೆರೆದ ಬಾಯಿಯ ಮೂಲಕ ಉಸಿರಾಟದ ಅನೈಚ್ಛಿಕ ಸೇವನೆ; ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಆಯಾಸ ಅಥವಾ ಬೇಸರದಿಂದ ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അലറുന്നു

വിശാലമായ തുറന്ന വായയിലൂടെ സ്വമേധയാ ഉള്ള ശ്വാസോച്ഛ്വാസം; സാധാരണയായി ക്ഷീണം അല്ലെങ്കിൽ വിരസത മൂലമാണ് ഉണ്ടാകുന്നത്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਉਬਾਸੀ

ਖੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ ਮੂੰਹ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਸਾਹ ਦਾ ਅਣਇੱਛਤ ਦਾਖਲਾ; ਆਮ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਥਕਾਵਟ ਜਾਂ ਬੋਰੀਅਤ ਕਾਰਨ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

جمائی

کھلے منہ سے غیر ارادی طور پر سانس لینا؛ عام طور پر تھکاوٹ یا بوریت سے پیدا ہوتا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

打哈欠

张开嘴不自觉地吸气；通常由疲劳或无聊引发

🇯🇵Japanese

あくびをしている

大きく開いた口から無意識に息を吸い込むこと。通常は疲労や退屈によって引き起こされる

🇰🇷Korean

입을 크게 벌린

입을 크게 벌려 비자발적으로 숨을들이 쉬는 것; 대개 피로나 지루함으로 인해 유발됩니다.

🇻🇳Vietnamese

ngáp

hít vào một cách không chủ ý qua cái miệng há rộng; thường được kích hoạt bởi sự mệt mỏi hoặc buồn chán

🇹🇭Thai

หาว

การหายใจเข้าโดยไม่สมัครใจผ่านปากที่เปิดกว้าง มักเกิดจากความเหนื่อยล้าหรือความเบื่อหน่าย

🇮🇩Indonesian

menguap

pengambilan napas yang tidak disengaja melalui mulut terbuka lebar; biasanya dipicu oleh kelelahan atau kebosanan

🇵🇭Filipino

humihikab

isang hindi sinasadyang paghinga sa pamamagitan ng isang malawak na bukas na bibig; kadalasang dulot ng pagkapagod o pagkabagot

🇲🇾Malay

menguap

pengambilan nafas secara tidak sengaja melalui mulut terbuka luas; biasanya dicetuskan oleh keletihan atau kebosanan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

التثاؤب

شهيق لا إرادي من خلال فم مفتوح على مصراعيه؛ عادة ما يكون سببها التعب أو الملل

🇮🇷Persian

خمیازه کشیدن

تنفس غیر ارادی از طریق دهان باز. معمولاً با خستگی یا بی حوصلگی ایجاد می شود

🇹🇷Turkish

esneme

geniş açık ağızdan istemsiz nefes alımı; genellikle yorgunluk veya can sıkıntısıyla tetiklenir

🇮🇱Hebrew

פַּהֶקֶת

שאיפת נשימה בלתי רצונית דרך פה פעור לרווחה; בדרך כלל מופעלת על ידי עייפות או שעמום

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'yawning'?

The primary meaning of 'yawning' is 'an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'yawning' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'yawning' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'yawning' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'yawning' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'yawning' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'yawning' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'yawning' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'yawning' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'yawning' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'yawning' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted