hunger

B1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈhʌŋɡɚ/ UK /ˈhʌŋɡə/ See IPA manual

Freq #4441

Meanings

1

noun
The feeling of needing or wanting to eat.

Many children in the region suffer from hunger.
2

noun
A strong desire or need for something.

The team had a great hunger to win the competition.
3

verb
To have a strong desire for something.

She hungered for adventure and a life away from home.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the feeling of needing or... hungriness

2 noun · a strong desire or need for... thirst craving

3 verb · to have a strong desire for... lust yearn

Opposites

satiation satiety

Word family

Forms hungeredhungeringhungers

Derived forms ahungeredanhungeredanti-hungerantihungerenhungerforhungeredhangerhunger-painhungerbittenhungererhungerfulhungerless

Related forms thirst

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

hunger strike
a protest in which someone deliberately refuses food

Noun + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

Hunger will break through a stone wall

Etymology

From Middle English hunger, from Old English hungor (“hunger, desire; famine”), from Proto-West Germanic *hungr, from Proto-Germanic *hungruz, *hunhruz (“hunger”), from Proto-Indo-European *kenk- (“to burn, smart, desire, hunger, thirst”). Cognate with West Frisian honger, hûnger (“hunger”), Dutch honger (“hunger”), German Low German Hunger (“hunger”), German Hunger (“hunger”), Swedish hunger (“hunger”), Icelandic hungur (“hunger”).

*kenk- Proto-Indo-European hunger Middle English hungor Old English *hungr Proto-West Germanic *hungruz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# hunger

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈhʌŋɡɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈhʌŋɡə/
**Frequency rank:** 4441

## Meanings
1. The feeling of needing or wanting to eat.
2. A strong desire or need for something.
3. To have a strong desire for something.

## Examples
- Many children in the region suffer from hunger.
- The team had a great hunger to win the competition.
- She hungered for adventure and a life away from home.

## Antonyms
- satiation
- satiety

## Derived Forms
- ahungered
- anhungered
- anti-hunger
- antihunger
- enhunger
- forhungered
- hanger
- hunger-pain
- hungerbitten
- hungerer
- hungerful
- hungerless

## Related Forms
- thirst

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kenk-
- Root: hunger
- Root: hungor
- Root: *hungr
- Root: *hungruz

## Etymology
From Middle English hunger, from Old English hungor (“hunger, desire; famine”), from Proto-West Germanic *hungr, from Proto-Germanic *hungruz, *hunhruz (“hunger”), from Proto-Indo-European *kenk- (“to burn, smart, desire, hunger, thirst”). Cognate with West Frisian honger, hûnger (“hunger”), Dutch honger (“hunger”), German Low German Hunger (“hunger”), German Hunger (“hunger”), Swedish hunger (“hunger”), Icelandic hungur (“hunger”).

## AI Etymology
Hunger comes from Middle English hunger, from Old English hungor (“hunger, desire; famine”), from Proto-West Germanic *hungr, from Proto-Germanic *hungruz, *hunhruz (“hunger”), from Proto-Indo-European *kenk- (“to burn, smart, desire, hunger, thirst”). Cognate with West Frisian honger, hûnger (“hunger”), Dutch honger (“hunger”), German Low German Hunger (“hunger”), German Hunger (“hunger”), Swedish hunger (“hunger”), Icelandic hungur (“hunger”). In current use, the main senses are “The feeling of needing or wanting to eat” and “A strong desire or need for something”.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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