adjective

hungry

Feeling a need for food or a strong desire for something.

I feel hungry after a long morning at work.

Etymology

Hunger supplies the need for food, and the adjective ending means characterized by it. Figurative uses transfer that strong appetite to other desired things.

More examples

  • Are you hungry enough for another sandwich?
  • The young athletes are hungry for success.
  • Readers are hungry for news about the discovery.

Forms

hungry · hungrier · hungriest

hunger noun — A need for food or strong desire.

hungrily adverb — With a strong appetite or desire.

Similar words

starving
Expresses a much stronger, often exaggerated need for food.
eager
Emphasizes enthusiasm for something rather than a need for food.