hunger

[huhng-ger]

noun

1. a compelling need or desire for food.

2. the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food.

   to collapse from hunger.

3. a shortage of food; famine.

4. a strong or compelling desire or craving.

   hunger for power.

   Synonyms: itch, lust, greed, appetite

verb (used without object)

1. to feel hunger; be hungry.

2. to have a strong desire.

verb (used with object)

1. Rare.,  to subject to hunger; starve.

hunger

/ ˈhʌŋɡə /

noun

1. a feeling of pain, emptiness, or weakness induced by lack of food

2. an appetite, desire, need, or craving

   hunger for a woman

verb

1. to have or cause to have a need or craving for food

2. (intr; usually foll by for or after) to have a great appetite or desire (for)

Other Word Forms

• hungeringly adverb
• half-hungered adjective
• prehunger noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hunger¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hungor; cognate with German Hunger

Word History and Origins

Origin of hunger¹

Old English hungor; related to Old High German hungar, Old Norse hungr, Gothic hūhrus

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. from hunger, deplorably bad; dreadful: Also strictly from hunger.

   The styles in coats this winter are from hunger.

Example Sentences

Young people hunger for change, Akoa said, but not yet to the point where they will take the risk of protesting en masse as in other countries in Africa and Asia.

Read more on Barron's

Israel has repeatedly denied that starvation is taking place in Gaza, and Netanyahu has said that where there is hunger, it is the fault of aid agencies and Hamas.

Read more on BBC

Saragosa’s concern echoes what many food bank leaders across the country are saying: the crisis isn’t just about hunger, but policy.

Read more on Salon

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and pushed nearly 25 million into acute hunger.

Read more on Barron's

"When I came out of that, I stopped the hunger strikes because I was a bit terrified of how far I went," he says.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• craving 
• desire 
• famine 
• greed 
• longing 
• lust 
• starvation 
• yearning