The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word LONGED
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
L
O
N
G
E
D
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Yearned" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case yearned = longed.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does LONGED mean?
LONGED verb- To take a long position in.
- To await, aspire, desire greatly (something to occur or to be true)
- To be appropriate to, to pertain or belong to.
- To belong.