hunkier; hunkiest
: being a hunk : attractive and usually well-built
the film's hunky leading man
variants
or less commonly Hunkie
plural Hunkies
dated, usually disparaging + offensive
: a person of central or east European birth or descent
Examples of hunky in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Withers makes Ledger, in his omnipresent orange Ford pickup truck, a soulfully hunky gentle giant.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Mar. 2026
Fan reaction was so strong to his hunky plastic surgeon character that he was upgraded to series regular the next season, and stayed through 2012 when his character died in the season 9 premiere.
—Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Feb. 2026
James Van Der Beek, a heartthrob who starred in coming-of-age dramas at the dawn of the new millennium, shooting to fame playing the titular character in Dawson’s Creek and in later years mocking his own hunky persona, has died.
—Dallas Morning News, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hunky
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Adjective
Oh, there’s also Queenie’s frenemy Kate (Adrienne Warren), who brings along a hunky plus-one with a roving eye (Jelani Alladin).
—Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Withers makes Ledger, in his omnipresent orange Ford pickup truck, a soulfully hunky gentle giant.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Mar. 2026
Fan reaction was so strong to his hunky plastic surgeon character that he was upgraded to series regular the next season, and stayed through 2012 when his character died in the season 9 premiere.
—Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Feb. 2026
James Van Der Beek, a heartthrob who starred in coming-of-age dramas at the dawn of the new millennium, shooting to fame playing the titular character in Dawson’s Creek and in later years mocking his own hunky persona, has died.
—Dallas Morning News, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hunky
Cite this Entry
“Hunky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunky. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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