adjective
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having or characterized by robust health
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strong or invigorating
a lusty brew
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lustful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lusty
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at lust, -y 1
Explanation
Someone who's lusty is healthy and passionate. A lusty young farm worker is strong and energetic, tackling each new challenge enthusiastically. You can be lusty in love, yearning for or infatuated with another person. You can also be lusty for life, filled with great strength and eager to live each day to the fullest. As time has gone by, lust and lusty have gained the "full of desire" meaning and lost some of the thirteenth century "joyful" sense of the words.
Vocabulary lists containing lusty
"Of Plymouth Plantation," Vocabulary from the historical account
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"The Tempest," Vocabulary from Acts 1 and 2
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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.
A few lusty blows from Shepherd, Matthew Forde and debutant Terrance Hinds got West Indies beyond 150 but, with Buttler in such fine form, England made light work of knocking off the runs.
From BBC • Nov. 10, 2024
Famously sampled in Madonna’s 2005 dance-floor reinvention “Hung Up,” this lusty 1979 Abba classic also boasts some excellent parentheses use.
From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2023
Mercedes buyers who make lusty power and responsive handling their top priorities have always favored the company’s AMG performance line.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2023
The best parts of “Wildflower” involve Bea and Ethan’s romance, which is genuinely sweet and realistically lusty, even as it’s complicated by the challenges of their differing social classes and Bea’s many anxieties.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2023
But he was ashamed, and yet half proud too, as one feels himself who is still lusty and a man when others hold him to be only grandfather.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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.
