lust

American  

[luhst] / lʌst /

noun

1. intense sexual desire or appetite.

2. uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite; lecherousness.

3. a passionate or overmastering desire or craving (usually followed byfor ).

   a lust for power.

4. ardent enthusiasm; zest; relish.

   an enviable lust for life.

5. Obsolete.

   1. pleasure or delight.

   2. desire; inclination; wish.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to have intense sexual desire.

2. to have a yearning or desire; have a strong or excessive craving (often followed by for orafter ).

   Synonyms:

   yearn, covet, hunger, crave

lust British  

/ lʌst /

noun

1. a strong desire for sexual gratification

2. a strong desire or drive

---

verb

1. (intr; often foll by after or for) to have a lust (for)

Other Word Forms

• unlusting adjective

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”; list ⁴

Example Sentences

The irony, which Mr. Crow misses, is that Marat, with his lists of enemies and scapegoats and his lust for punishment, was the ancestor of the modern totalitarians.

From The Wall Street Journal

Macclesfield described McLeod as having a "lust for life" and an "unwavering work ethic", which was an inspiration to those around him.

From BBC

“The real evils in war,” St. Augustine once wrote, are “love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce and implacable enmity, wild resistance, and the lust of power.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The latter, afflicted by “the incurable disease of mediocrity,” has led a disappointing life yet still possesses a lust for it.

From Los Angeles Times

A taste for romance and lust for life and all of its many mysteries remain at the forefront of Anderson’s work, no matter its setting.

From Salon

Related Words

• craving
• desire
• excitement
• fervor
• greed
• hunger
• libido
• longing
• sensuality
• thirst