hunchback
Americannoun
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a person whose back is humped in a convex position because of abnormal spinal curvature.
noun
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a person having an abnormal convex curvature of the thoracic spine
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such a curvature
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hunchback
First recorded in 1705–15; back formation from hunchbacked
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.
Though mean-spirited, the jester Rigoletto — Verdi’s hapless, vengeful hunchback — wins our hearts as the outsider whom a heartless world so often abuses.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2025
He saw the gloriously skewed al-Hadba minaret, known as the "hunchback", which had been emblematic of Mosul for hundreds of years, in ruins.
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2025
This leads into an aspect that I want to discuss, which others have pointed out: Richard III is typically played by someone who is mimicking a hunchback or portraying scoliosis.
From Salon • May 18, 2023
During the attempt, though, the pope asks Quasi to kill the king, leaving the hunchback in a bind.
From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2023
As Chucha would say, the hunchback laughing at the camel’s hump!
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
