Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense hungers, present participle hungering, past tense, past participle hungered
1. uncountable noun
Hunger is the feeling of weakness or discomfort that you get when you need something to eat.
Hunger is the body's signal that levels of blood sugar are too low.
Protein helps to fill you up and curb hunger pangs.
Synonyms: appetite, emptiness, voracity, the munchies [slang] More Synonyms of hunger
2. uncountable noun
Hunger is a severe lack of food which causes suffering or death.
Three hundred people in this town are dying of hunger every day.
Synonyms: starvation, famine, malnutrition, undernourishment More Synonyms of hunger
3. singular noun
If you have a hungerfor something, you want or need it very much.
[written]
Geffen has a hunger for success that seems bottomless. [+ for]
...his hunger to equal Vardon's record of six wins.
Synonyms: desire, appetite, craving, yen [informal] More Synonyms of hunger
4. verb
If you say that someone hungersfor something or hungersafter it, you are emphasizing that they want it very much.
[formal, emphasis]
But Jules was not eager for classroom learning, he hungered for adventure. [V + for/after]
[Also VERB to-infinitive]
hunger in British English
(ˈhʌŋɡə)
noun
1.
a feeling of pain, emptiness, or weakness induced by lack of food
2.
an appetite, desire, need, or craving
hunger for power
verb
3.
to have or cause to have a need or craving for food
4. (intr; usually foll by for or after)
to have a great appetite or desire (for)
Word origin
Old English hungor; related to Old High German hungar, Old Norse hungr, Gothic hūhrus
hunger in American English
(ˈhʌŋgər)
noun
1.
a.
the discomfort, pain, or weakness caused by a need for food
b.
famine; starvation
2.
a desire, need, or appetite for food
3.
any strong desire; craving
verb intransitive
4.
to feel hunger; be hungry; need food
5.
to have a strong desire; crave
with for or after
verb transitive
6. Rare
to subject to hunger; starve
Word origin
ME < OE hungor, akin to Ger hunger < IE base *kenk-, to burn, dry up > Lith kankà, pain
COBUILD Collocations
hunger
satisfy hunger
Examples of 'hunger' in a sentence
hunger
She has been held intermittently in solidarity confinement and went on hunger strike last year.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
It looked as if a side with hunger and desire to shake off the nearly men tag had emerged.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
One thing you have to possess above all else is a real hunger and desire to still do the job.
The Sun (2016)
The sharpness with which he took both goals showed the hunger and desire which made him an almighty force was back.
The Sun (2016)
Last week she began a hunger strike but ended it on Friday after an emergency visit from her family.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
At her mother's pleading, she agreed to suspend her hunger strike.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They all had reflux, so were all constantly screaming in pain and hunger, throwing up and having to be fed again.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
What happened last year could be a blessing in disguise'There is a lot of hunger and desire to get the club in the Prem.
The Sun (2017)
Their desire and hunger to become international cricketers is second to none.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Or is hunger an acute pain to be ignored or feared?
Bloom, Carol & Gitter, Andrea (contributor) & Gutwill, Susan (contributor) & Kogel,Laura (contributor) & Zaphiropoulos, Lela (contributor) Eating Problems: A Feminist Psychoanalytic Treatment Model (1994)
They help take away hunger and add lots of nutrients and super nutrients.
The Sun (2012)
They can talk all they like about having the hunger for success.
The Sun (2014)
And all the while their hunger gets worse and worse.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The acid test of insufficient food is hunger.
The Sun (2016)
Watching celebs suffer from hunger and lack of home comforts is somehow really entertaining.
The Sun (2012)
One has gone on a hunger strike.
The Sun (2009)
Therefore they can provoke as much hunger as any other food.
Lutzner, Dr Helmut Successful Fasting -the easy way to cleanse your body of its poisons (1990)
You may possibly feel some hunger pangs.
Lutzner, Dr Helmut Successful Fasting -the easy way to cleanse your body of its poisons (1990)
You need a hunger to be successful.
The Sun (2010)
It should be noted that appetite or hunger are not necessarily a desire for food.
Lutzner, Dr Helmut Successful Fasting -the easy way to cleanse your body of its poisons (1990)
The main cause of hunger today is lack of access to food.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The hunger and desire were there for all to see.
The Sun (2009)
He will not use oil and will eat as much as he wants to avoid hunger pains.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It helps to curb hunger for four hours.
The Sun (2006)
The key to their success is hunger.
The Sun (2012)
That is not to say that he lacks hunger.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
This means it is another good food for keeping hunger at bay while being nourishing and not causing bloating.
The Sun (2012)
They were having a laugh and a joke but there is still a serious hunger to get back in the studio.
The Sun (2008)
Hunger is a great language instructor.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
There's a growing hunger for something new.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
But after a few days, boredom, hunger pangs and cravings get the better of you.
The Sun (2012)
Quotations
There's no sauce in the world like hungerMiguel de CervantesDon Quixote
Hunger drives the wolf from the wood
In other languages
hunger
British English: hunger /ˈhʌŋɡə/ NOUN
Hunger is the feeling of weakness or discomfort that you get when you need something to eat.
Hunger is the body's signal that you need to eat.
American English: hunger
Arabic: جُوعٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: fome
Chinese: 饥饿
Croatian: glad
Czech: hlad
Danish: sult
Dutch: honger
European Spanish: hambre
Finnish: nälkä
French: faim
German: Hunger
Greek: πείνα
Italian: fame
Japanese: 空腹
Korean: 굶주림
Norwegian: sult
Polish: głód
European Portuguese: fome
Romanian: foame
Russian: голод
Latin American Spanish: hambre
Swedish: hunger
Thai: ความหิว
Turkish: açlık
Ukrainian: голод
Vietnamese: sự đói
British English: hunger VERB
If you say that someone hungers for something or hungers after it, you are emphasizing that they want it very much.
But he was not eager for classroom learning. He hungered for adventure.
American English: hunger
Brazilian Portuguese: ansiar
Chinese: 渴望
European Spanish: ansiar
French: être avide
German: hungern nach
Italian: smaniare
Japanese: 切望する
Korean: 갈망하다
European Portuguese: ansiar
Latin American Spanish: ansiar
All related terms of 'hunger'
hunger march
a procession of protest or demonstration by unemployed people
hunger pangs
sudden strong feelings of hunger
hunger strike
If someone goes on hunger strike or goes on a hunger strike , they refuse to eat as a way of protesting about something.
hunger marches
→ the hunger marches
satisfy hunger
Hunger is the feeling of weakness or discomfort that you get when you need something to eat.
the hunger marches
a number of processions by unemployed workers in the 1930s to protest against unemployment and deprivation
relay hunger strike
(esp in India ) a form of protest in which a number of persons go without food by turns
relay fast
(esp in India ) a form of protest in which a number of persons go without food by turns
Chinese translation of 'hunger'
hunger
(ˈhʌŋɡəʳ)
n(u)
(= lack of food) 饿(餓) (è)
(= starvation) 饥(飢)饿(餓) (jī'è)
vi
they hunger for adventure他们(們)渴望冒险(險) (tāmen kěwàng màoxiǎn)
his hunger for adventure他想冒险(險)的强(強)烈愿(願)望 (tā xiǎng màoxiǎn de qiángliè yuànwàng)
1 (noun)
Definition
a feeling of emptiness or weakness caused by lack of food
Hunger is the body's sign that blood sugar is too low.
Synonyms
appetite
a slight fever, headache and loss of appetite
emptiness
voracity
the munchies (slang)
esurience
hungriness
ravenousness
2 (noun)
Definition
a lack of food that causes suffering or death
Hundreds of people died of hunger during the famine.
Synonyms
starvation
Over three hundred people had died of starvation.
famine
The severity of the drought led to famine.
malnutrition
Infections are more likely in those suffering from malnutrition.
undernourishment
3 (noun)
Definition
desire or craving
He has a hunger for success that seems bottomless.
Synonyms
desire
I had a strong desire to help and care for people.
appetite
our growing appetite for scandal
craving
I had a sudden craving for a cheese sandwich.
yen (informal)
Mike had a yen to try cycling.
ache
an overwhelming ache for support from others
lust
It was his lust for glitz and glamour that was driving them apart.
yearning
He spoke of his yearning for another child.
itch
an insatiable itch to switch from channel to channel
thirst
their ever-growing thirst for cash
greediness
appetence
phrasal verb
See hunger for or after something
Quotation
There's no sauce in the world like hunger [Miguel de Cervantes – Don Quixote]