hungry
HUHNG-gree
Hungry (adjective) means feeling the need or desire to eat. Example: “By lunchtime, the kids were starving hungry.”
adjective
1
Feeling the need or desire to eat.
"By lunchtime, the kids were starving hungry."
"I skipped breakfast this morning, so I am really hungry now."
"The smell of fresh bread from the bakery made him hungry."
2
Having a strong eagerness or desire for something.
"the students are hungry to learn"
"It’s an astonishing roll call of future talent from when they were still young and hungry in Manhattan."
— Hadley Freeman, Like a cinema virgin: how Madonna went stratospheric making Desperately Seeking Susan (2022)
"The young team looked hungry for their first trophy."
"She is hungry for success and works late every evening to improve."
"The students were hungry for knowledge and asked question after question."
How to use hungry
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishWanting food, or more broadly, eager and driven to achieve something.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
hungry for success
go hungry
stay hungry
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Word forms
- Comparative
- hungrier
- Superlative
- hungriest
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
By lunchtime, the kids were starving _____.
Etymology
From Old English hungrig, built from hunger + the adjective suffix -y.
Synonyms
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Related words
Frequently asked questions
What does “hungry” mean?
The word “hungry” means feeling the need or desire to eat. In plain terms, wanting food, or more broadly, eager and driven to achieve something.
How do you pronounce “hungry”?
“Hungry” is pronounced HUHNG-gree (/ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ in IPA).
How do you use “hungry” in a sentence?
Here is “hungry” used in a sentence: “By lunchtime, the kids were starving hungry.”
What is another word for “hungry”?
Words with a similar meaning to “hungry” include anhungry, ahungry, gaunted, hungerful and hungree.
What is the opposite of “hungry”?
The opposite of “hungry” — its antonyms — are full, gorged, nonhungry, unhungry and sated.
What part of speech is “hungry”?
“Hungry” is an adjective.
Where does the word “hungry” come from?
The word “hungry” comes from Old English. From Old English hungrig, built from hunger + the adjective suffix -y.
Is “hungry” a common word?
“Hungry” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.
What is the difference between hungry and Hungary?
They sound similar but are completely different. 'Hungry' is an adjective describing the need or desire to eat. 'Hungary' is a country in Central Europe with its capital at Budapest. One describes an empty stomach; the other is a place on a map. Only the spelling and context tell them apart.
What is the difference between hungry and starving?
Hungry describes a general need or wish to eat. Starving literally means suffering serious harm from lack of food, though in everyday speech people use it as an exaggeration for being very hungry. So 'I'm starving' usually just means extremely hungry, not that someone is truly without food.
Can hungry be used figuratively?
Yes. Beyond food, hungry describes a strong craving or ambition, as in 'hungry for success' or 'a hungry young team.' Used this way it suggests eager, driven, determined energy. The image of physical hunger becomes a way to picture intense desire for something other than food.
What is the opposite of hungry?
The opposite is full, or being satisfied after eating, sometimes described as satiated. Words like stuffed convey the same idea in casual speech. Where hungry signals a need to eat, these words mean that need has been met and the desire for food is gone.
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