wanderlust

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈwɑn.dɚ.lʌst/ UK /ˈwɒn.də.lʌst/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a strong impulse or longing to travel and explore the world

Her wanderlust took her across three continents in a single year.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a strong impulse or longing... wayfaringrestlessnessitchy feet

Opposites

homesickness

Word family

Related forms wander wanderer lust

Etymology

A 20th-century borrowing from German Wanderlust, a compound of wandern ('to hike, wander') and Lust ('desire, pleasure').

Wanderlust German wandern German Lust German

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# wanderlust

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɑn.dɚ.lʌst/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɒn.də.lʌst/

## Meanings
1. a strong impulse or longing to travel and explore the world

## Examples
- Her wanderlust took her across three continents in a single year.

## Synonyms
- wayfaring
- restlessness
- itchy feet

## Antonyms
- homesickness

## Related Forms
- wander
- wanderer
- lust

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: Wanderlust
- Root: wandern
- Root: Lust

## Etymology
A 20th-century borrowing from German Wanderlust, a compound of wandern ('to hike, wander') and Lust ('desire, pleasure').

## AI Etymology
Wanderlust is a 20th-century borrowing from German Wanderlust, a compound of wandern ('to hike, wander') and Lust ('desire, pleasure'). In current use it is a noun meaning "a strong impulse or longing to travel and explore the world". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes German Wanderlust, German wandern, and German Lust. Related English forms include wander, wanderer, and lust. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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