hunch

5 synonyms for hunch, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — A feeling or guess based on instinct rather than solid evidence.

Synonyms

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

suspicion intuition hump

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

hunch over hunch forward

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

A feeling or guess based on instinct rather than solid evidence.

“I had a hunch she was lying, and it turned out I was right.”

suspicion intuition hump hunch over hunch forward

2. verb

To bend forward, rounding your back and shoulders.

“He hunched over his laptop for hours without a break.”

hump

How to use hunch

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

have a hunch follow a hunch hunch over

Etymology

Possibly a variant of "hunk," of uncertain origin; the "intuition" sense is said to come from an old superstition that touching a hunchback's hump brought luck.

Full origin of hunch →

Frequently asked questions

What does “hunch” mean?

The word “hunch” means a feeling or guess based on instinct rather than solid evidence. In plain terms, a gut feeling that something is true, or the act of curling your body forward.

How do you pronounce “hunch”?

“Hunch” is pronounced huhnch (/hʌnt͡ʃ/ in IPA).

How do you use “hunch” in a sentence?

Here is “hunch” used in a sentence: “I had a hunch she was lying, and it turned out I was right.”

What part of speech is “hunch”?

Depending on how it is used, “hunch” can be a noun and a verb.

How many meanings does “hunch” have?

“Hunch” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a feeling or guess based on instinct rather than solid evidence.

People also searched

suspicion intuition hump

Nearby words

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