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

His family's comfortable middle-class lifestyle was destroyed by the war and, with food hard to find, his earliest memory was hunger.

From BBC

A report by the world's leading hunger monitor at the end of August stated that half a million people in Gaza City are suffering from famine.

From BBC

But, having lost to Barcelona in the semi-finals, the hunger for a first Champions League title has been increased by Arsenal's triumph over the Spaniards in last year's final.

From BBC

This comes as the IDF expands its operation – launching a massive assault on Gaza City despite widespread international and domestic opposition – and the primary UN-backed global hunger monitor confirms a famine in the territory.

From BBC

The most recent earthquake hit Afghanistan when it is reeling under severe drought and what the UN calls an unprecedented crisis of hunger.

From BBC

Related Words

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