hunch
English · Thesaurus
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hunch
- /hʌnt͡ʃ/
- /hʌnʃ/
Rhymes with -ʌntʃ
Where it comes from
Assibilated variant of hunk, of uncertain origin.
Alternatively, a derivative of hump, via an earlier Middle English *hunche, *humpchin, from *hump + -chin, -chen (diminutive suffix), equivalent to hump + -kin. In the sense of an intuitive impression, said to be from the old gambling superstition that it brings luck to touch the hump of a hunchback.
noun hunches
- A hump; a protuberance.
- A stooped or curled posture; a slouch. The old man walked with a hunch.
- A theory, idea, or guess; an intuitive impression that something will happen. I have a hunch they'll find a way to solve the problem.
- A hunk; a lump; a thick piece. a hunch of bread
- A push or thrust, as with the elbow.
verb hunches · hunching · hunched
- To bend the top of one's body forward while raising one's shoulders. Don't hunch over your computer if you want to avoid neck problems.
- To raise (one's shoulders) (while lowering one's head or bending the top of one's body forward); to curve (one's body) forward (sometimes followed by up). They stood outside the door hunching themselves against the rain and puffing on their cigarettes.
-
To walk (somewhere) while hunching one's shoulders.
[…] the figure hunched up the road.
Similar: slouch
- To thrust a hump or protuberance out of (something); to crook, as the back. […] thou art all one errour; soul and body. The first young tryal of some unskill’d Pow’r; Rude in the making Art, and Ape of Jove. Thy crooked mind within hunch’d out thy back; And wander’d in thy limbs:
- To push or jostle with the elbow; to push or thrust against (someone). After this, we saw a great Troop of Women upon the High-way to Hell, with their Bags; and their fellows, at their Heels, ever, and anon, hunching, and Justling one Another.
- To have a hunch, or make an intuitive guess. People who are instinctive hunchers go through some such process at every decision-making point of their lives. It is likely that children often make decisions and discern truths by hunching.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: hump, hunch over, intuition, suspicion, hunch forward, bump, glimmer, flavour, trail, feeling, sense, impression, insight, vision, fuse, instinct
Translations
Every language
noun hump; protuberance
| Español | joroba, corcova, giba, chepa, gibosidad |
|---|---|
| Português | corcunda, corcova, protuberância |
| Français | bosse |
| Deutsch | Hügel, Protuberanz, Buckel |
| Italiano | gibbo |
| Ελληνικά | καμπούρα kampoúra, όγκος ógkos |
noun stooped or curled posture
| Deutsch | gekrümmte Haltung, krummer Rücken |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | καμπούρα kampoúra |
| Русский | сутулая поза sutulaja poza |
noun idea, theory
| Español | corazonada, pálpito, intuición, tinca, presentimiento |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 预感 yùgǎn |
| Português | palpite, pressentimento, intuição |
| Français | intuition, pressentiment |
| Deutsch | Ahnung, Gefühl |
| Italiano | intuizione, presentimento |
| Ελληνικά | προαίσθημα proaísthima |
| Русский | иде́я idéja, дога́дка dogádka |
| עברית | תְּחוּשַׁת בֶּטֶן tẖushát béten |
noun hunk; lump; thick piece
| Deutsch | dickes Stück |
|---|
verb to slouch, stoop
| Português | curvar |
|---|---|
| Français | se voûter |
| Ελληνικά | καμπουριάζω kampouriázo |
| Русский | суту́литься sutúlitʹsja, го́рбиться górbitʹsja, сгиба́ться sgibátʹsja |
Talk about this word "hunch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hunch. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hunch. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hunch "hunch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hunch.Cite this
@misc{hunch_2026,
title = {hunch},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hunch},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
