hanker
verb (used without object)
to have a restless or incessant longing (often followed by after, for, or an infinitive).
hankered
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past participleof hanker.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof hanker.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
hankerverb (used without object)to have a restless or incessant longing (often followed by after, for, or an infinitive).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Customers, he insisted, still hankered after the noise and fury of a conventional motor.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025
Back then, fear of centralism sprang from populists such as William Jennings Bryan, who hankered for easier credit for farmers.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2022
Some hankered for u-turns in policies; some wanted an entirely new approach to governing.
From Reuters ● Jan. 20, 2017
The romantic in me hankered after that golden-age ambience, and Kingston’s plight seemed to sum up the decline of chess since it had been front-page news in the Fischer era.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 14, 2016
Why she hankered to be a teacher, I couldn’t tell you.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
