lust
Americannoun
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intense sexual desire or appetite.
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uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite; lecherousness.
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a passionate or overmastering desire or craving (usually followed byfor ).
a lust for power.
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ardent enthusiasm; zest; relish.
an enviable lust for life.
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Obsolete.
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pleasure or delight.
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desire; inclination; wish.
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noun
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a strong desire for sexual gratification
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a strong desire or drive
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lust
First recorded before 900; Middle English luste, Old English lust; cognate with Dutch, German Lust “pleasure, desire”; akin to Old Norse lyst “desire”; see list 4
Explanation
Lust is a strong craving for sex. It also can mean a hunger for anything, like lust for power. While lust isn't a dirty word, it is a strong word. You don't have lust for something you don't really care about. Lust is a strong, powerful desire, whether it's a noun or verb: you lust for things you deeply crave. Someone greedy lusts for money. Someone gluttonous lusts for food. The most basic meaning of lust is an unquenchable desire for sex, but people lust for all sorts of things.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The current paper is part of an ongoing series of studies that Flynn, Lust, Sherman, and their colleagues have performed.
From Science Daily • Feb. 29, 2024
The crew is shooting scenes for two films - Mosaic, which has a budget of about £7,000, and Video Shop Tales of Terror: Lust and Revenge, which Churchyard hopes to keep "well under £10,000".
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2023
“That’s not to say that you can’t win,” Lust added “Doctors can show with some reasonable degree of certainty that wouldn’t have happened but for his role in college.”
From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2022
Lust said no one should fault Griner for trying to make a living.
From Fox News • Mar. 14, 2022
Lust for action drove me to go to sea then, in command of ships and gallant seamen bound for Egypt.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
