english word · 2026-06-09
sehnsucht
noun
Meaning
A deep emotional state of longing or yearning for a far-off country or an ideal that is difficult to describe or reach. It represents a search for something unattainable that feels like home.
Etymology
Borrowed from German, combining 'sehnen' (to yearn) and 'Sucht' (obsession or craving).
Examples
"Looking at the old photographs of a city she had never visited, she felt a wave of sehnsucht for a life she had never lived."
"The composer's final symphony was a masterpiece of sehnsucht, capturing that bittersweet ache for a perfection that exists only in dreams."
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