hanker

American  

[hang-ker] / ˈhæŋ kər /

verb (used without object)

1. to have a restless or incessant longing (often followed by after, for, or an infinitive).

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hanker British  

/ ˈhæŋkə /

verb

1. to have a yearning (for something or to do something)

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Related Words

See yearn.

Other Word Forms

• hankerer noun
• hankering noun

Etymology

Origin of hanker

First recorded in 1595–1605; from early Dutch dialect hankeren (cognate with Dutch hunkeren ), frequentative of hangen “to hang”; hang

Example Sentences

“I’ve got a hankering for your good fried chicken,” I told my aunt.

From Literature

The pandemic isn’t over but we can at least perceive its end; we’ve also long accepted the fact that we’re stupid and contagious, but also bored and antsy and hankering for excitement.

From Salon

And distributors, dizzy from years of surprises and disruption, are hankering for a universally appealing, tried-and-true marketing campaign, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal

I didn’t understand then that it is possible to hanker deeply after something that is neither pretty nor useful, just because of the person who once used it.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s enough to make a reader hanker for a volume devoted to the director’s long working relationship with Head or for a filmography refracted through the actresses he obsessed over and glorified.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• crave
• itch
• yearn