• Today's Word

Appetence

🔊 Listen to the word Appetence

AP-ih-tense

Definition

(noun) A natural craving or strong desire; an instinctive inclination toward something

Example

She couldn’t explain her appetence for solo travel — it was simply part of who she was.

Word Origin

Appetence comes from the Latin appetentia, derived from appetere — meaning “to strive after” or “to desire” — itself a combination of ad (“toward”) and petere (“to seek” or “to aim at”). The word entered English in the 17th century, used by philosophers and naturalists to describe instinctive drives in both humans and animals.

Fun Fact

Appetence was a favorite concept of early behavioral scientists who believed that all living creatures are governed by innate appetences — drives toward food, warmth, connection, and survival that operate below conscious thought. The word also appears in literary philosophy: German Romantic writers used the concept to explore the soul’s yearning for beauty and meaning, framing appetence not as simple hunger but as the deepest expression of what a being is naturally drawn toward.