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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
Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 17 Jan. 2025
Walk around the block with an empty suitcase Feeling wanderlust?
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 31 Dec. 2024
Thailand, in particular, is seeing a surge in popularity thanks to the success of shows like The White Lotus, which has sparked wanderlust for the country’s beaches and bustling cities.
—Caroline Tell, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
As a travel editor with a frequent case of wanderlust, my vacation bucket list is seemingly never ending.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 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 1 Feb. 2025.
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wanderlust
noun
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