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Wanderlust Has German Roots
"For my part," writes Robert Louis Stevenson in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, "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 wander, hike, or stray" and Lust means "pleasure" or "desire."
Examples of wanderlust in a Sentence
Robin Raven, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Emma Myers’ wanderlust extends beyond our world — even beyond our reality.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025
The revenge travel phenomenon got a lot of press in the year or two after the pandemic, but data shows that consumers’ pent-up, post-pandemic wanderlust is still playing out.
—Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 24 Mar. 2025
The airline also has a helpful tool for travelers with wanderlust, but are unsure about the destination.
—Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wanderlust
Cite this Entry
“Wanderlust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wanderlust. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.
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wanderlust
noun
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