hun´gri|ness

hun|gry «HUHNG gree», adjective, -gri|er, -i|est.

1. feeling a desire or need for food: »

Mother says the boys in our family always seem hungry. I came home, hungry as a hunter (Charles Lamb).

2. showing hunger: »

The cook saw a hungry look on the beggar's face.

3. causing hunger; that leaves one hungry: »

hungry fare.

4. Figurative. having a strong desire or craving; eager: »

hungry for books. A person who longs to read and study is hungry for knowledge.

5. not rich or fertile: »

hungry soil.

╂[Old English hungrig]

–hun´gri|ly, adverb.

–hun´gri|ness, noun.

Synonym Study 1 Hungry, famished mean needing food. Hungry is the general word: »

Boys are always hungry.

Famished means brought to a serious condition of physical exhaustion, even to the point of dying, by lack of food: »

We try to feed and save famished war orphans.

But in informal use, it often means no more than very hungry.