libido
noun
Did you know?
The Latin word libido, meaning "desire, lust", was borrowed by Sigmund Freud as the name for a concept in his own theories. At first he defined libido to mean the instinctual energy associated with the sex drive. Later he broadened the word's meaning and began using it to mean the mental energy behind purposeful human activity of any kind; in other words, the libido (for which Freud also used the term eros, a Greek word meaning "sexual love") came to be regarded as the life instinct, which included sex along with all the other impulses we rely on to keep us alive. But those of us who aren't psychologists use the word simply as a synonym for "sex drive".
Examples of libido in a Sentence
Katia Riddle, NPR, 11 Aug. 2025
What the researchers found was there were no serious side effects at any dose level, and hormones remained stable and libido was unchanged.
—New Atlas, 10 Aug. 2025
If your libido has taken a dip, rule out physical causes first.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 5 Aug. 2025
An anonymous London chef documents her adventures as a young woman in restaurant kitchens and the bedroom in equal measure
What if Anthony Bourdain were a twentysomething London woman with a libido as big as her appetite?
—Flora Gill, Air Mail, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for libido
Cite this Entry
“Libido.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/libido. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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