english word · 2026-09-27
sehnsucht
noun
Meaning
A deep emotional state of longing or yearning for a far-off country or an intangible ideal. It represents an intense desire for something unidentified or unattainable that feels like home.
Etymology
Borrowed from German, combining 'sehnen' (to yearn) and 'Sucht' (obsession or craving).
Examples
"As he listened to the distant whistle of the midnight train, he felt a sharp pang of sehnsucht for a life he had never lived."
"The old photographs stirred a sense of sehnsucht, a reaching for a golden past that existed only in her imagination."
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