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hunger

 - 5 dictionary results

hun⋅ger

[huhng-ger]
–noun
1. a compelling need or desire for food.
2. the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food: to collapse from hunger.
3. a shortage of food; famine.
4. a strong or compelling desire or craving: hunger for power.
–verb (used without object)
5. to feel hunger; be hungry.
6. to have a strong desire.
–verb (used with object)
7. Rare. to subject to hunger; starve.
8. from hunger, Slang. deplorably bad; dreadful: The styles in coats this winter are from hunger. Also, strictly from hunger.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE hungor; c. G Hunger


hun⋅ger⋅ing⋅ly, adverb


4. appetite, greed, lust, itch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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hun·ger   (hŭng'gər)   
n.  
    1. A strong desire or need for food.

    2. The discomfort, weakness, or pain caused by a prolonged lack of food.

  1. A strong desire or craving: a hunger for affection.

v.   hun·gered, hun·ger·ing, hun·gers

v.   intr.
  1. To have a need or desire for food.

  2. To have a strong desire or craving.

v.   tr.
To cause to experience hunger; make hungry.

[Middle English, from Old English hungor.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

hunger 
O.E. hungor "unease or pain caused by lack of food, craving appetite, debility from lack of food," from P.Gmc. *khungrus (cf. O.H.G. hungar, O.N. hungr, Ger. hunger, Du. honger, Goth. huhrus), probably from PIE base *kenk- "to burn, be dry, pain." Hungry is O.E. hungrig.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: hun·ger
Pronunciation: 'h&[ng]-g&r
Function: noun
1 : a craving, desire, or urgent need for food
2 : an uneasy sensation occasioned normally by the lack of food and resulting directly from stimulation of the sensory nerves of the stomach by the contraction and churning movement of the empty stomach
3 : a weakened disordered condition brought about by prolonged lack of food hunger>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

hunger hun·ger (hŭng'gər)
n.

  1. A strong desire or need for food.

  2. The discomfort, weakness, or pain caused by a prolonged lack of food.

  3. A strong desire or craving, as for affection.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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