hunger
gb/hˈʌŋɡɚ/ us/hˈʌŋɡɚ/
A2
English
~ 9700
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
state
1
the bodily need for food
The bad feeling in your body when you need food and have not eaten.
Usage pattern:
[someone] feels hunger
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say *"I am hunger"* instead of *"I am hungry"*. Use the adjective *hungry* to talk about how you feel, and use the noun *hunger* mainly in more formal speech or writing, or with other nouns (for example, *world hunger*, *severe hunger*).
Synonyms
starvation (More extreme and usually longer-lasting lack of food than ordinary hunger.)
|
appetite (A general desire to eat, not necessarily caused by not eating for a long time.)
Antonyms
satiety (The state of feeling fully satisfied after eating.)
|
fullness (The feeling of having enough or too much food in the stomach.)
Collocations
feel hunger
|suffer from hunger
|die of hunger
|chronic hunger
|severe hunger
|hunger pangs
Themes
health
|daily life
|food
|society
|body
Examples
- After skipping lunch, he felt a sharp hunger in his stomach.
- Long periods of hunger can damage a child's health.
- The charity works to reduce hunger in rural areas.
- She woke up in the night with intense hunger.
- War and drought have caused widespread hunger in the region.
Learner examples
- I feel strong hunger before dinner.
- Hunger makes it hard for children to study.
- Many people in the world still live with hunger.
- After the long walk, our hunger was very big.
Noun
B2
state
2
strong desire for something
A very strong want for something that is not food, like success, love, or power.
Usage pattern:
a hunger for [something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse physical *hunger* for food with this abstract sense. When the thing you want is not food, it is often better to say *a hunger for [something]* (for example, *a hunger for success*), not *hunger of success* or just *hunger success*.
Synonyms
craving (Suggests a very strong, sometimes uncontrollable desire.)
|
longing (Emphasizes a deep, often emotional or painful desire over time.)
|
thirst (Often used figuratively in the same way, especially in the phrase *thirst for power*.)
Antonyms
contentment (A feeling of being happy with what you have, without strong desire for more.)
|
indifference (A lack of interest or desire toward something.)
Collocations
hunger for power
|hunger for success
|hunger for attention
|spiritual hunger
|insatiable hunger
|deep hunger
Themes
emotions
|motivation
|psychology
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- His hunger for success drove him to work late every night.
- The speech spoke to a deep hunger for change in the country.
- She has a real hunger for knowledge and reads every day.
- Fame never satisfied his hunger for love and acceptance.
- The company is trying to tap into consumers' hunger for new technology.
Learner examples
- He has a hunger for power.
- My hunger for success helps me study hard.
- The book comes from the writer's hunger for truth.
- People have a hunger for real human connection.
Verb
C1
action
3
to strongly long for something
To strongly want something that is not food, like love, success, or power.
Usage pattern:
[someone] hungers for [something]
Common mistake:
Some learners try to use *hunger* as a verb for food, as in *"I hunger now"* in everyday speech. In modern English it is much more natural to say *"I am hungry"* or *"I am starving". As a verb, *hunger* is most often used for strong non-food desires: *hunger for power*, *hunger for love*, and so on.
Synonyms
yearn (Often sounds emotional and slightly literary, similar level of intensity.)
|
crave (Suggests a strong, sometimes urgent desire; can be more informal.)
|
long for (Focuses on a deep desire that continues over time.)
Antonyms
reject (To refuse or turn away from something instead of strongly wanting it.)
|
shun (To deliberately avoid something rather than desire it.)
Collocations
hunger for power
|hunger for justice
|still hungers for
|hunger for connection
|hunger for freedom
|secretly hungers for
Themes
emotions
|motivation
|psychology
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She still hungers for recognition from her parents.
- Many people hunger for a sense of purpose in their lives.
- The novel shows a society that hungers for freedom.
- He hungers for real conversation, not small talk.
- Artists often hunger for honest feedback on their work.
Learner examples
- She hungers for true love.
- Many young people hunger for freedom.
- He hungers for a better life.
- The country hungers for peace.
Verb
literary
C1
action
4
to suffer from lack of food
To live with strong physical hunger because you do not have enough food.
Usage pattern:
[someone] hungers
Common mistake:
This verb use of *hunger* is quite formal or literary. In everyday English, people more often say *go hungry* or *starve* rather than *hunger*. Learners may overuse *hunger* as a verb; it is better reserved for serious or literary contexts.
Synonyms
starve (More common and often stronger; can mean to suffer or even die from having no food.)
Antonyms
be well-fed (Describes having enough or more than enough food instead of suffering from hunger.)
Collocations
millions hunger
|continue to hunger
|hunger in silence
|children hunger
|people still hunger
|families that hunger
Themes
health
|society
|poverty
|body
Examples
- In many conflict zones, civilians still hunger despite international aid.
- Whole communities hunger while nearby farms export food abroad.
- He vowed that no child in his country would hunger again.
- They hunger through the long winter months when work is scarce.
- Generations have hungered in that region due to repeated droughts.
Learner examples
- Many people in poor areas hunger every day.
- Children should not hunger in a rich country.
- Some families hunger even when they work hard.
- In the story, the villagers hunger during the long winter.
Grammar
Dictionary form
hunger
IPA
GB/hˈʌŋɡɚ/
US/hˈʌŋɡɚ/
Syllables & stress
hun - ger (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (hun)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: hunger
- Plural: hunger
Verb
- Base: hunger
- 3rd Person Singular: hungers
- Present Participle: hungering
- Past: hungered
Word family
Expressions
a hunger for power
1/ə hˈʌŋɡɚ fɚ pˈaʊɚ/
fixed phrase
strong desire to control others
A very strong wish to have power and control over other people or over a country or company.
Examples
- The dictator's hunger for power led to years of war.
- Politicians with a hunger for power can be dangerous.
- His hunger for power destroyed his friendships.
die of hunger
1/dˈaɪ əv hˈʌŋɡɚ/
fixed phrase
die because you have no food
To die because you do not have enough food; often also used in jokes to mean you are very hungry.
Examples
- In the famine, many people died of hunger and disease.
- We joked that we were going to die of hunger if dinner was any later.
- No one should die of hunger in a world with so much food.
hunger for
1/hˈʌŋɡɚ fɚ/
fixed phrase
strongly want something nonfood
To strongly want something that is not food, such as power, love, or success.
Examples
- Many voters hunger for honest leaders.
- Children hunger for attention from their parents.
- The film captures our hunger for simple, quiet moments.
hunger strike
1/hˈʌŋɡɚ stɹˈaɪk/
fixed phrase
refusing to eat as protest
A kind of protest in which a person or group stops eating to make people listen to their demands.
Examples
- The activist began a hunger strike to demand fair elections.
- Several prisoners went on a hunger strike to protest poor conditions.
- The government finally responded after the hunger strike gained media attention.
world hunger
1/wˈɚld hˈʌŋɡɚ/
fixed phrase
global problem of not enough food
The problem that many people in different countries do not have enough food.
Examples
- The organization raises money to fight world hunger.
- Reducing world hunger is one of the United Nations' main goals.
- Technology alone cannot solve world hunger without political change.
hunger pangs
1/hˈʌŋɡɚ pˈæŋz/
fixed phrase
sharp feelings of hunger
Quick, strong pains in your stomach that you feel when you are very hungry.
Examples
- By late afternoon, hunger pangs were distracting her from her work.
- By mid-morning, the hunger pangs had already started.
- He grabbed a sandwich to quiet the hunger pangs.
- She grabbed a snack to stop the hunger pangs.
- Long flights always give me hunger pangs halfway through.
- The children tried to sleep through their hunger pangs.