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craving

craving

78 3.7
A very strong desire for things like food or cigarettes
  • noun
  • /ˈkreɪvɪŋ/
translation icon : antojo
  • After skipping breakfast, I had a strong craving for something sweet by mid-morning.
  • craving for food
  • satisfy the craving
  • reduce cravings

I think those cravings shift, which is bananas.

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Examples

  • Even bird people can get a craving for a cup of coffee, can't they?

    Fiction book (1997)
  • On the morning of the third, a craving for something namelessly clean.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • I was pregnant, and I had a craving for a glass of water.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I have no craving for candy, nothing.

  • Almost as strong as the desire to get clean was the craving for a bidi.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • It's like they knew that one of my biggest cravings is like anything chocolatey.

  • So have you had any cravings since you've been pregnant?

  • He'd be battling the craving for booze for the rest of his life, he realized.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • No cravings at all?

  • Symptoms include loss of emotional control, compulsive behavior, cravings, and crying spells.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

desire
vscraving
1.6

A strong wish to have or experience something

is more intense and urgent than that feeling
appetite
vscraving
299 2.1

A desire to eat or to have new experiences

is more forceful and emotionally driven than a natural urge
longing
vscraving
69 4.2

A strong wish for someone or something you cannot have

is more immediate and urgent than that feeling
thirst
vscraving
40 3.6

A strong wish to have or achieve something

is the general intense desire that covers all cases
itch
vscraving
  • Informal
31 4.2

A strong desire to do or have something

is a stronger, more intense form of that restless urge
want
vscraving
27 1.0

A strong desire for something you wish to have

is stronger and more intense than a simple need or wish
sweet tooth
vscraving
  • Informal
20 2.8

A strong liking for sweet foods like candy and cake

is a general intense want not limited to sweets
hankering
vscraving
11 6.6

A strong wish to have or do something

is deeper and more intense than a mild longing
yearning
vscraving
8 5.5

A strong, lasting wish for something you want but cannot get

is intense but may be shorter and more urgent than lasting longing
yen
vscraving
5 7.5

A strong desire for something

is stronger and more pressing than a clear urge
jonesing
vscraving
  • Slang
2 9.9

A strong wish to have something you enjoy

is similar but is a more neutral and serious feeling
1 3.8

A strong, lasting wish to learn new things

is broader and covers any strong want beyond learning
thirstiness
vscraving
3.5

A strong desire for things like knowledge or success

is broader and applies to any intense want, not only intangibles
insatiable thirst
vscraving
7.0

A very strong wish for more that cannot be satisfied

is intense but does not imply being impossible to satisfy
hungriness
vscraving
5.9

A strong desire to get or achieve something

is equally intense but used more generally in many contexts
appetence
vscraving
9.9

A strong desire to have or do something

is stronger and implies greater intensity than a general longing
appetency
vscraving
9.9

A strong wish to have or try something

is the same idea but with slightly greater urgency
appetition
vscraving
  • Archaic
9.9

A strong wish to have or achieve something

is more everyday and concrete rather than philosophical
3.5

A strong desire to succeed

is more general and fits any intense want, not only ambition
orectic
vscraving
  • Archaic
9.9

A strong desire for something

is more common and less technical in everyday use

How Desired

compulsion
40 6.7
craving
78 3.7
longing
69 4.2
desire
1.6
want
27 1.0

Surface Forms

craving singular
cravings plural

Morphology

craving = crave (transparent) = crave + ing

Clear nominalization of the verb 'crave' with -ing; knowing 'crave' lets learners predict the noun meaning.

Etymology

The word craving comes from the verb crave, which once meant 'to beg' or ask for something very strongly. So a craving is like an inner 'beg' — a powerful desire for food, a cigarette, or anything you suddenly want badly.