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Wanderlust Has German Roots
"For my part," writes Robert Louis Stevenson in Travels with a Donkey, "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." Sounds like a case of wanderlust if we ever heard one. Those with wanderlust don't necessarily need to go anywhere in particular; they just don't care to stay in one spot. The etymology of wanderlust is a very simple one that you can probably figure out yourself. Wanderlust is a lust for wandering. The word comes from German, in which wandern means "to hike or roam about," and Lust means "pleasure or delight."
Examples of wanderlust in a Sentence
Valerie Mesa, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024
Mermaids, octopi, and shells at Etro, Tory Burch, and Chloé were expressive of a collective sense of wanderlust focused on ocean-side adventures.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2024
By the 17th, Venus in Sagittarius will be in your ninth house, inspiring you with wanderlust and a desire for spontaneity in your love life.
—Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024
Disney’s 'The Little Mermaid' May 22-July 13, 2025 A mermaid with wanderlust falls head over heels for a prince and makes a deal with a sea witch to acquire human legs.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for wanderlust 
Dictionary Entries Near wanderlust
Cite this Entry
“Wanderlust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wanderlust. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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wanderlust
noun
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