wanderlust
/ˈwɒndəlʌst/
"wanderlust" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wanderlust” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #44,564. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #44,564
- frequency rank, English
- 12,113
- “W” headwords
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A strong impulse or longing to travel.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wanderlust |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɒndəlʌst/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #44,564 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wanderlust” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 16 spelling variants around wanderlust (IPA /ˈwɒndəlʌst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #44,564 among 12,113 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for wanderlust, with forms such as "awnderlust", "wadnerlust", and "wandderlust". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Wanderlust (“an urge to travel; a love of the ‘great outdoors’”), from wandern (“to wander; to hike”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn; to wind”)) + Lust (“a desire, a wish to do or have something; fun, pleasure”) … The correct English form is wanderlust, spelled W-A-N-D-E-R-L-U-S-T.
Definition
- 1A strong impulse or longing to travel.
- 2An impulse to cheat or seek out other romantic or sexual partners; a straying heart.
Etymology
Borrowed from German Wanderlust (“an urge to travel; a love of the ‘great outdoors’”), from wandern (“to wander; to hike”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn; to wind”)) + Lust (“a desire, a wish to do or have something; fun, pleasure”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to separate; to set free; to untie”)); analysable as wander + lust.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- awnderlust
- wadnerlust
- wandderlust
- wandelrust
- wanderllust
- wanderlsut
- wanderlusst
- wanderlustt
- wanderluts
- wanderrlust
- wanderulst
- wandrelust
- wanedrlust
- wannderlust
- wnaderlust
- wwanderlust
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wanderlust - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "wanderlust"?
What does "wanderlust" mean?
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Using “wanderlust”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-A-N-D-E-R-L-U-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɒndəlʌst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.