lust
/ˈlʌst/noun, verb
lust is spelled L-U-S-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.2 times per million words in written English, the 10,843rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lust means “A feeling of strong desire, especially such a feeling driven by sexual arousal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lust is lusts.
How many letters and syllables are in lust?
| Letters | 4: L-U-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 5.2 times per million words; the 10,843rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lust?
Lust appears 5.2 times per million words in written English, the 10,843rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lust?
- US /ˈlʌst/
- /ˈlʊst/
- /ˈlɜst/
Lust has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-lust2.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lust?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lust from its last stressed vowel (/ʌst/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lust
- lusts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lusting participle, present
- lusted participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lust mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A feeling of strong desire, especially such a feeling driven by sexual arousal.
Seeing Leslie fills me with a passionate lust.
- 2
archaicA general want or longing, not necessarily sexual.
The boarders hide their lust to go home.
- 3
archaicA delightful cause of joy, pleasure.
An ideal son is his father's lasting lust.
- 4
obsoleteVirility; vigour; active power.
verb
- 1
To look at or watch with a strong desire, especially of a sexual nature.
- 2
archaicTo desire.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lust in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | luxure, concupiscence, convoitise , désirer |
| German | Wollust, Lust , begehren , Begehren, Verlangen , Freude |
| Portuguese | luxúria , vontade, desejo |
| Spanish | lujuria, libídine, lubricidad , codiciar , deseo, ganas |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lust come from?
From Middle English lust, from Old English lust (“lust, pleasure, longing”), from Proto-West Germanic *lustu, from Proto-Germanic *lustuz. Akin to Old Saxon, Dutch lust, Old Frisian, Old High German, German Lust, Swedish lust, Danish lyst, Icelandic lyst, Old Norse losti, Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 (lustus), and perhaps to Sanskrit लष् (laṣ), लषति (laṣati, “to desire”) and Albanian lushë (“bitch, savage dog, promiscuous woman”), or to English loose. Compare list (“to please”), listless.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).