Hunger

/ˈhʌŋɡə/

Synonyms for "hunger" (164 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (33)

achean universal wolfappetenceappetencyappetiteappetitionaspire afterbe ravenousbreak breadcanine appetitecannibalismcarnivorismcarnivoritycarnivorousnesschewingconsumptioncount caloriescovetcovetingcrave
Show 5 more words
crave aftercravingcrawl aftercroppingcupidity
Verb(2 words)
cravecraves

Strong matches (49)

Related words (82)

Determiner(1 words)
no food

Choosing the right synonym

  • Closest matches in this entry: ache, ambition, an universal wolf, appetence, appetency.
  • Sentence evidence is available for hunger, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
  • Ranking signals come from moby, opengloss, derived_reverse, wordnet, and related lexical sources.

Synonym selection checklist

  • Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
  • Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
  • Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "hunger".
  • Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.

When not to replace "hunger"

Keep "hunger" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.

If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.

Replacement workflow

1. Preserve meaning

Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "hunger" intact in the sentence you are editing.

2. Tune tone

Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.

3. Re-read context

Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.

Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.

Final fit check

After choosing a replacement for "hunger", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.

If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "hunger" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.

Related word relations

OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.

5 relation types

More general

13 entries
achebiological needdesiredriveemotional statehurtinternal statephysiological needsmartsufferwant

More specific

7 entries
ambitioncravinghunger pangpine forstarvationthirstyearn for

Collocations

9 entries
global hungerhunger for informationhunger for knowledgehunger for noveltyhunger for powerhunger for successhunger panghunger pangshunger strike

Inflections

3 entries

Derivations

4 entries

Translations

215 translations across 169 languages.

Powered by Wiktionary

Abkhaz

1 entries
  • амла noun (need for food)

Afar

1 entries
  • luwa noun (need for food)

Aghwan

1 entries
  • 𐔱𐕒𐕡𐕚 noun (need for food)

Akan

1 entries
  • ɔkɔm noun (need for food)

Albanian

1 entries
  • uri noun (need for food)

Ancient Greek

3 entries
  • λιμός noun (need for food)
  • πεῖνα noun (need for food)
  • σιτοδεία noun (need for food)

Andi

1 entries
  • моко noun (need for food)

Arabic

3 entries
  • جوع noun (need for food)
  • جُوع noun (need for food)
  • يوع noun (need for food)

Aragonese

1 entries
  • fambre noun (need for food)

Armenian

2 entries
  • սով noun (need for food)
  • քաղց noun (need for food)

Aromanian

1 entries
  • foami noun (need for food)

Assamese

1 entries
  • ভোক noun (need for food)

Asturian

1 entries
  • fame noun (need for food)

Avar

1 entries
  • ракъи noun (need for food)

Azerbaijani

1 entries
  • aclıq noun (need for food)

Bangi

1 entries
  • nzala noun (need for food)

Bashkir

1 entries
  • аслыҡ noun (need for food)

Basque

1 entries
  • gose noun (need for food)

Belarusian

1 entries
  • го́лад noun (need for food)

Bengali

4 entries
  • ক্ষুধা noun (need for food)
  • খিদা noun (need for food)
  • ভুক noun (need for food)
  • ভুখ noun (need for food)

Breton

1 entries
  • naon noun (need for food)

Bulgarian

1 entries
  • глад noun (need for food)

Burmese

2 entries
  • အငတ် noun (need for food)
  • အဆာ noun (need for food)

Carpathian Rusyn

1 entries
  • го́лод noun (need for food)

Catalan

2 entries
  • fam noun (need for food)
  • gana noun (need for food)

Cebuano

1 entries
  • gutom noun (need for food)

Central Atlas Tamazight

1 entries
  • ⵍⴰⵥ noun (need for food)

Central Kurdish

2 entries
  • برس noun (need for food)
  • برسێتی noun (need for food)

Chechen

1 entries
  • мацалла noun (need for food)

Chichewa

1 entries
  • njala noun (need for food)

Chinese Mandarin

1 entries
  • 飢餓 /饥饿 noun (need for food)

Chukchi

1 entries
  • гытъатгыргын noun (need for food)

Church Slavic

1 entries
  • гладъ noun (need for food)

Chuvash

2 entries
  • выҫлӑх noun (need for food)
  • выҫӑ noun (need for food)

Coptic

1 entries
  • ϩⲕⲟ noun (need for food)

Cornish

1 entries
  • nown noun (need for food)

Czech

1 entries
  • hlad noun (need for food)

Dalmatian

1 entries
  • fum noun (need for food)

Danish

1 entries
  • sult noun (need for food)

Dutch

2 entries
  • honger noun (need for food)
  • trek noun (need for food)

Egyptian

1 entries
  • H-q:r-A2 noun (need for food)

Esperanto

1 entries
  • malsato noun (need for food)

Estonian

1 entries
  • nälg noun (need for food)

Even

1 entries
  • дьэмкэн noun (need for food)

Evenki

1 entries
  • дему noun (need for food)

Faroese

3 entries
  • hungur noun (need for food)
  • svongd noun (need for food)
  • svultur noun (need for food)

Finnish

1 entries
  • nälkä noun (need for food)

French

1 entries
  • faim noun (need for food)

Friulian

1 entries
  • fan noun (need for food)

Galician

4 entries
  • carpulla noun (need for food)
  • fame noun (need for food)
  • fame negra noun (need for food)
  • farca noun (need for food)

Georgian

1 entries
  • შიმშილი noun (need for food)

German

1 entries
  • Hunger noun (need for food)

Gothic

1 entries
  • 𐌷𐌿𐌷𐍂𐌿𐍃 noun (need for food)

Greek

4 entries
  • ασιτία noun (need for food)
  • λιγούρα noun (need for food)
  • λιμός noun (need for food)
  • πείνα noun (need for food)

Hadza

1 entries
  • házze noun (need for food)

Haitian Creole

1 entries
  • grangou noun (need for food)

Hebrew

1 entries
  • רָעָב noun (need for food)

Hindi

1 entries
  • भूख noun (need for food)

Hungarian

1 entries
  • éhség noun (need for food)

Icelandic

2 entries
  • hungur noun (need for food)
  • sultur noun (need for food)

Ido

1 entries
  • hungro noun (need for food)

Indonesian

1 entries
  • lapar noun (need for food)

Ingrian

1 entries
  • nälkä noun (need for food)

Ingush

1 entries
  • мецавалар noun (need for food)

Interlingua

1 entries
  • fame noun (need for food)

Irish

1 entries
  • ocras noun (need for food)

Istriot

1 entries
  • fan noun (need for food)

Istro-Romanian

1 entries
  • fome noun (need for food)

Italian

1 entries
  • fame noun (need for food)

Japanese

3 entries
  • 空腹 noun (need for food)
  • 飢え noun (need for food)
  • 飢餓 noun (need for food)

Kabuverdianu

1 entries
  • fómi noun (need for food)

Kapampangan

2 entries
  • danup noun (need for food)
  • keranupan noun (need for food)

Kazakh

1 entries
  • аштық noun (need for food)

Khakas

1 entries
  • ас noun (need for food)

Khalaj

1 entries
  • âç noun (need for food)

Kikuyu

1 entries
  • ng'aragu noun (need for food)

Kongo

1 entries
  • nzala noun (need for food)

Korean

2 entries
  • 굶주림 noun (need for food)
  • 배고픔 noun (need for food)

Kyrgyz

1 entries
  • ачтык noun (need for food)

Latgalian

2 entries
  • bods noun (need for food)
  • olkonums noun (need for food)

Latin

1 entries
  • famēs noun (need for food)

Latvian

1 entries
  • bads noun (need for food)

Lingala

1 entries
  • nzala noun (need for food)

Lithuanian

1 entries
  • alkis noun (need for food)

Lombard

1 entries
  • famm noun (need for food)

Louisiana Creole

2 entries
  • fim noun (need for food)
  • gran-gou noun (need for food)

Lower Sorbian

1 entries
  • głod noun (need for food)

Luba-Kasai

1 entries
  • nzala noun (need for food)

Luba-Katanga

1 entries
  • nzala noun (need for food)

Luxembourgish

1 entries
  • Honger noun (need for food)

Macedonian

1 entries
  • глад noun (need for food)

Malay

1 entries
  • lapar noun (need for food)

Maltese

1 entries
  • ġuħ noun (need for food)

Manx

1 entries
  • accrys noun (need for food)

Maranao

1 entries
  • gotem noun (need for food)

Marathi

1 entries
  • भूख noun (need for food)

Mongolian

1 entries
  • өлсгөлөн noun (need for food)

Navajo

1 entries
  • dichin noun (need for food)

Nepali

1 entries
  • भोक noun (need for food)

Norman

1 entries
  • fôim noun (need for food)

Northern Kurdish

1 entries
  • birçîtî noun (need for food)

Northern Sami

1 entries
  • nealgi noun (need for food)

Norwegian Bokmål

2 entries
  • hunger noun (need for food)
  • sult noun (need for food)

Norwegian Nynorsk

2 entries
  • hunger noun (need for food)
  • svolt noun (need for food)

Occitan

1 entries
  • fam noun (need for food)

Odia

1 entries
  • ଭୋକ noun (need for food)

Old East Slavic

1 entries
  • голодъ noun (need for food)

Old English

1 entries
  • hungor noun (need for food)

Old High German

1 entries
  • hungar noun (need for food)

Old Norse

1 entries
  • hungr noun (need for food)

Old Turkic

1 entries
  • 𐰀𐰲𐰾𐰴 noun (need for food)

Ossetian

1 entries
  • стонг noun (need for food)

Ottoman Turkish

1 entries
  • آجلق noun (need for food)

Papiamentu

1 entries
  • hamber noun (need for food)

Pashto

1 entries
  • لوږه noun (need for food)

Persian

1 entries
  • گرسنگی noun (need for food)

Plautdietsch

1 entries
  • Hunga noun (need for food)

Polish

1 entries
  • głód noun (need for food)

Portuguese

1 entries
  • fome noun (need for food)

Quechua

1 entries
  • yarqay noun (need for food)

Rohingya

1 entries
  • búk noun (need for food)

Romagnol

1 entries
  • fâm noun (need for food)

Romani

1 entries
  • bokh noun (need for food)

Romanian

1 entries
  • foame noun (need for food)

Romansch

1 entries
  • fom noun (need for food)

Russian

1 entries
  • го́лод noun (need for food)

Saho

1 entries
  • luwa noun (need for food)

Sango

1 entries
  • nzala noun (need for food)

Sanskrit

1 entries
  • बुभुक्षा noun (need for food)

Sardinian

1 entries
  • fàmene noun (need for food)

Scottish Gaelic

1 entries
  • acras noun (need for food)

Serbo-Croatian

2 entries
  • glad noun (need for food)
  • глад noun (need for food)

Sicilian

1 entries
  • fami noun (need for food)

Sindhi

1 entries
  • بک noun (need for food)

Slovak

1 entries
  • hlad noun (need for food)

Slovene

1 entries
  • lakota noun (need for food)

Somali

1 entries
  • gaajo noun (need for food)

Southern Altai

1 entries
  • ач noun (need for food)

Spanish

4 entries
  • fambre (desus.) noun (need for food)
  • fiaca noun (need for food)
  • gazuza noun (need for food)
  • gusa noun (need for food)

Sranan Tongo

1 entries
  • angri noun (need for food)

Swahili

2 entries
  • njaa noun (need for food)
  • unenge noun (need for food)

Swedish

1 entries
  • hunger noun (need for food)

Tajik

1 entries
  • гуруснагӣ noun (need for food)

Tamil

1 entries
  • பசி noun (need for food)

Tatar

1 entries
  • ачлык noun (need for food)

Telugu

1 entries
  • ఆకలి noun (need for food)

Tetum

2 entries
  • hamlaha noun (need for food)
  • laha noun (need for food)

Thai

1 entries
  • ความหิว noun (need for food)

Tocharian B

1 entries
  • kest noun (need for food)

Tumbuka

1 entries
  • njala noun (need for food)

Turkish

2 entries
  • aç noun (need for food)
  • açlık noun (need for food)

Turkmen

2 entries
  • aaçlyk noun (need for food)
  • açlyk noun (need for food)

Tuvan

1 entries
  • аш noun (need for food)

Ugaritic

1 entries
  • 𐎗𐎙𐎁𐎐 noun (need for food)

Ukrainian

1 entries
  • го́лод noun (need for food)

Upper Sorbian

1 entries
  • hłód noun (need for food)

Urdu

1 entries
  • بھوک noun (need for food)

Uyghur

1 entries
  • ئاچلىق noun (need for food)

Uzbek

1 entries
  • ochlik noun (need for food)

Venetan

1 entries
  • fan noun (need for food)

Vietnamese

1 entries
  • đói noun (need for food)

Vili

1 entries
  • nzala noun (need for food)

Votic

1 entries
  • nältše noun (need for food)

Walloon

1 entries
  • fwin noun (need for food)

Welsh

1 entries
  • newyn noun (need for food)

West-Frisian

2 entries
  • honger noun (need for food)
  • hûnger noun (need for food)

Yakut

1 entries
  • аас noun (need for food)

Yiddish

1 entries
  • הונגער noun (need for food)

Zhuang

1 entries
  • iek noun (need for food)

Sample sentences

18 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he always had enough to eat.

Source: tatoeba (1933)

With hunger and fatigue, the dog died at last.

Source: tatoeba (18155)

Hunger is one of the greatest social miseries.

Source: tatoeba (18156)

Hunger is the best sauce.

Source: tatoeba (18157)

Showing 4 of 18 available sentences.

Common questions

What are the closest synonyms for "hunger"?

Closest matches include ache, ambition, an universal wolf, appetence, appetency.

How should I check whether a synonym fits "hunger"?

Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.

More for "hunger"

Meaning

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