Desires, with "after"

LUSTS

Think of strong cravings often linked to one of the seven deadly sins, especially when paired with a preposition. The word starts with a sound like "must" but isn’t about obligation.

The clue plays on the phrase "lusts after," where "after" is hinted at in the clue itself. "Lusts" means strong desires, so the answer fits both the definition and the wordplay by dropping "after" from the common expression. It’s a clever way to signal the word without spelling it out directly.