hunger

noun

ˈhəŋ-gər How to pronounce hunger (audio)
Definition of hungernext
1
as in appetite
a need or desire for food no degree of hunger would induce me to eat octopus

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in thirst
a strong wish for something a lonely girl with a desperate hunger for love

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in enthusiasm
urgent desire or interest reads everything he can find on airplanes with a seemingly insatiable hunger

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hunger However, emotional hunger or binge-eating disorders are different. — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026 The candidate also stressed cost efficiency and collaborations with other UN agencies in implementing the organization's mandate of providing regular access to enough high-quality food and ending hunger and malnutrition. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026 More than half of Haiti’s population of 12 million are facing acute hunger. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026 Research suggests that drinking plain water before a meal may modestly reduce hunger and, in some studies, reduce short-term food intake. — Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 21 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hunger
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hunger
  1. appetite
  2. thirst
  3. enthusiasm
  4. starvation
  5. craving
  6. stomach
  7. desire
  8. longing
Noun
  • Of note for more adventurous appetites are the oxtail and blue cheese pizza or Zambian whole bream fish.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The asset manager is among a growing number of global firms in Abu Dhabi’s financial center, ADGM, drawn by proximity to sovereign wealth funds like ADIA and Mubadala, family offices, and the region’s expanding appetite for private credit.
    — Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of appetite
Noun
  • Naturally, many of those discussions gravitated toward data centers and AI’s thirst for electrons.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Advanced signs include anxiety, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, extreme thirst paired with panic at the sight of fluids, heavy saliva and aggressive thrashing or biting.
    — The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of thirst
Noun
  • Spending has been helped by a strong stock market, which reflects enthusiasm over the prospects for artificial intelligence and which enriches wealthy investors and gives them more money to buy things with.
    — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • That level of enthusiasm underscores the power of personal agents and the promise that consumers and office workers will be able to use the technology to book travel, pay bills, respond to emails and perform many more tasks.
    — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of enthusiasm
Noun
  • Books and stationary, burned for fuel in times of starvation and now subject to Israeli import restrictions, remain in desperately short supply.
    — Ghada Abdulfattah, Christian Science Monitor, 25 Sep. 2026
  • For the dinosaurs that survived the initial blast, the world became an unforgiving wilderness of starvation and severe climate shifts.
    — Kevin Brown, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of starvation
Noun
  • Keep one in your freezer for whenever your pumpkin pie craving strikes.
    — Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Jennifer King is getting brain surgery at Allegheny General Hospital to hopefully control her opioid addiction cravings.
    — Meghan Schiller, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of craving
Noun
  • Wells' family and their lawyers disputed the grand jury's findings, pointing to unexplained bruising on the back of his head and noting that his airways and stomach were devoid of water.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Keith died in February 2024 following a battle with stomach cancer.
    — Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of stomach
Noun
  • The idea of a child receiving an injection for weight loss strikes at something deep — a desire to let children be children, free from adult burdens.
    — Babak J. Orandi, STAT, 1 Oct. 2026
  • His desire echoes that of his boss, BBC Studios Productions chief Zai Bennett, which is to invest in around two to three of these new-look talent labels per year.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of desire
Noun
  • The Incredible Hulk, the Thing, He-Man, Superman—these cartoon heroes must fulfill some kind of longing.
    — Gavin Francis, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Despite the claims of any number of charlatans who prey on the American brand of cuddly benighted ignorance, the universe will not manifest an alternate reality for anyone who simply wishes for it with sufficient longing.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of longing

Phrases Containing hunger

Browse Nearby Words

hung back
hunger
hungered (for)
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Cite this Entry

“Hunger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hunger. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on hunger

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hunger

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