Definition and Pronunciation
Lustful love (pronounced: /ˈlʌstfəl lʌv/) is a noun phrase that refers to affection or desire strongly driven by lust—an intense craving for sexual pleasure—rather than by emotional depth, purity, or commitment. It is often portrayed as passionate, impulsive, and sometimes immoral or destructive.
Easy Explanation
“Lustful love” means love that is mostly about sexual desire. For example, a person attracted mainly to someone’s body, without deeper emotional connection, is experiencing lustful love.
Grammatical Formation
- Adjective + Noun: lustful (full of lust, sexually intense) + love (affection, passion).
- Related forms: lust (noun), lustfully (adverb), lustfulness (noun).
Word Comparisons
- Lustful love vs. pure love: pure = innocent, virtuous; lustful = sexually driven, impure.
- Lustful love vs. sinful love: sinful = condemned by religion; lustful = strongly sensual, may or may not be judged sinful.
- Lustful love vs. passionate love: passionate = strong emotion (not only sexual); lustful = almost entirely sexual desire.
Connotations
- Negative: impure, immoral, superficial.
- Romanticized: intense, irresistible passion.
- Figurative: uncontrollable craving.
Meaning with Prepositions
- Lustful love for: lustful love for a forbidden partner.
- Lustful love with: lustful love with no emotional bond.
- Lustful love in: lustful love in stories of temptation.
Real-Life Examples
- The novel warns of lustful love that destroys virtue.
- He admitted to lustful love for a colleague rather than true affection.
- Poetry often contrasts lustful love with faithful devotion.
- Their marriage collapsed because it was built only on lustful love.
Synonyms
sensual love, carnal love, passionate desire, erotic love, impure love, immoral love, lewd affection
Antonyms
chaste love, pure love, virtuous love, spiritual love, innocent love, faithful love
Related Terms
- Lust – intense sexual craving.
- Carnal desire – bodily passion.
- Unchastity – sexual impurity.
- Eroticism – sensual passion.
Common Collocations
- lustful love affair
- lustful love for beauty
- lustful love condemned
- lustful love in literature
- lustful love as temptation
Idiomatic and Figurative Usage
- Lustful love of the flesh: physical passion.
- Lustful love as downfall: desire that ruins lives.
- Lustful love in art: symbol of temptation and sin.
Sample Sentences
- He was warned against lustful love that clouded his judgment.
- Her poetry condemned lustful love as dangerous to the soul.
- The king’s lustful love led to scandal and war.
- Lustful love is often confused with true love, but lacks depth.
Connection to Sexuality
Yes, directly. “Lustful love” almost always refers to sexual desire—love that is dominated by physical attraction rather than emotional or spiritual connection.
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