hunch

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /hʌntʃ/ UK /hʌntʃ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like haunch /ʌ/ vs /ɑ/

Meanings

1

noun
an intuitive feeling or guess; also, to arch the back forward

I had a hunch the train would be late, and I was right.
2

verb
to bend the upper body forward and raise the shoulders

Tall passengers sometimes hunch their shoulders beneath the low roof.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with hunch

hunch over Phrasal verb C2+

to bend forward with the back rounded and the shoulders drawn inward

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an intuitive feeling or... intuition feeling inkling suspicion premonition presentiment hump arch

Word family

Derived forms hunched

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

hunch over
to bend forward with the back rounded and the shoulders drawn inward

Verb + adverb

Etymology

Of uncertain origin, first recorded in the 16th century meaning 'to push, shove'; the sense 'intuitive feeling' (American, 19th c.) may derive from the gambler's notion of a push toward luck.

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# hunch

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /hʌntʃ/
**IPA (UK):** /hʌntʃ/

## Meanings
1. an intuitive feeling or guess; also, to arch the back forward
2. to bend the upper body forward and raise the shoulders

## Examples
- I had a hunch the train would be late, and I was right.
- Tall passengers sometimes hunch their shoulders beneath the low roof.

## Synonyms
- intuition
- feeling
- inkling
- suspicion
- premonition
- presentiment
- hump
- arch

## Derived Forms
- hunched

## Etymology
Of uncertain origin, first recorded in the 16th century meaning 'to push, shove'; the sense 'intuitive feeling' (American, 19th c.) may derive from the gambler's notion of a push toward luck.

## AI Etymology
Hunch is of uncertain origin, first recorded in the 16th century meaning 'to push, shove'; the sense 'intuitive feeling' (American, 19th c.) may derive from the gambler's notion of a push toward luck. Its deeper history remains uncertain, with proposed links left as possibilities rather than a single settled derivation. The current sense covers an intuitive feeling or guess; also, to arch the back forward. The wider family includes derived forms such as hunched.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

markdown