I. ˈləst noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German lust pleasure, desire, Old Norse losti sexual desire, Gothic lustus desire, Latin lascivus wanton, playful, Greek lilaiesthai to yearn, Sanskrit laṣati he yearns, lasati he plays
1. obsolete
a. : pleasure , gratification , delight
gazing upon the Greeks with little lust — Shakespeare
b. : personal inclination : wish , whim
when I am hence, I'll answer to my lust — Shakespeare
c. : vigor , fertility
the increasing lust of the earth or of the plant — Francis Bacon
2. : sexual desire especially of a violent self-indulgent character : lechery , lasciviousness
love comforteth, like sunshine after rain, but lust ' s effect is tempest after sun — Shakespeare
two lonely people … drawn together by the nature of their lusts (not love) — James Stern
3.
a. : an intense longing : craving
an unquenchable lust to dominate — B.I.Bell
an insatiable lust for land — P.W.Gates
extremest commercialism and the lusts of a great city — Robert Russell
the sea … instilling in the restless spirit a lust for adventure — George Theotokas
b. : eagerness , enthusiasm
restore your vigor and lust for living — National Geographic
was candor incarnate, with a lust for iconoclasm — W.A.White
Synonyms: see desire
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English lusten, from lust, n.
intransitive verb
: to have an intense desire or need : have a desire as a ruling passion : crave , long , yearn
his bulky body lusted for sleep with every muscle and nerve — S.V.Benét
— often used with after
scented … a chance of return to the old detective work that his soul lusted after — Rudyard Kipling
specifically : to have a sexual urge ~
transitive verb
obsolete : to make a choice of : please
I kings create … and, whom I lust , do heap with glory — Edmund Spenser