hunky

¹

[huhng-kee]

adjective

Slang.

1. satisfactory; well; all right.

2. even; leaving no balance.

hunky

²

[huhng-kee]

adjective

hunkier, hunkiest 

1. Slang.,  (of a male) handsome and having well-developed physique.

hunky

³

Or hunk·ie

[huhng-kee]

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

plural

hunkies 

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a person of Hungarian or Slavic descent, especially an unskilled or semiskilled worker.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hunky¹

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; from obsolete New York City slang term hunk, used especially by boys at play for home base, home (the goal); from Dutch honk “post, station, base, home” + -y ¹ ( def. ); hunky-dory ( def. )

Origin of hunky²

First recorded in 1910–15; hunk + -y ¹

Origin of hunky³

First recorded in 1905–10; (bo)hunk ( def. ) + -y ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Though O’Brien is flexing his emotional range here, his hunky sincerity lands in part because Sweeney remains steady in the opposite registry.

From Los Angeles Times

The actor’s handsome, vaguely blank countenance is meant to suggest a burly, hunky everyman — the sort of person you’d never suspect or look twice at, which makes Tucker well-positioned to leave a trail of corpses in his path.

From Los Angeles Times

Everybody thought we were lying - this place was all hunky dory.

From BBC

You come out of the theater realizing that your hunky idol had negligible screen time — at least you think so.

From Salon

And Luke, the hunky diner guy?

From Slate

Related Words

• attractive 
• handsome 
• well-built