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hankering

hankering

11 6.6
A strong wish to have or do something
  • noun
  • /ˈhæŋkərɪŋ/
translation icon : deseo
  • "I had a hankering for turnip greens," Kim explains, when they are all stretching in the parking lot.

They're just ideas I have that I have a hankering to make this thing and and I do them.

Examples

  • But still, I know people are hankering for VR right now.

  • As the nights close in and winter takes hold, I get a hankering to burrow into my duvet, curl up, and hibernate until spring.

    Academic text (2007)
  • For whatever reason, I had a hankering to make a return visit.

    Blog text (20)
  • Actually, I have this crazy hankering for sardines right now.

  • I've got a hankering for pie tonight.

  • I loved all of those, and once in a while, I get a hankering for a liverwurst sandwich.

    Blog text (1)
  • Harry has a sudden hankering for pecan pie.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Ever since, I've had a hankering to be a grower.

  • However, the repeated use of the term "maker's mark" has given me an odd hankering for Antiques Roadshow reruns and bourbon whiskey.

    Blog text (5)
  • I have a strong hankering for chocolate cake after dinner.

Synonyms

desire
vshankering
1.6

A strong wish to have or experience something

is a strong lasting wish for things rather than a simple event wish
craving
vshankering
78 3.7

A very strong desire for things like food or cigarettes

is a strong wish but usually less urgent or intense than that
longing
vshankering
69 4.2

A strong wish for someone or something you cannot have

is a strong wish but not specifically for what cannot be obtained
itch
vshankering
  • Informal
31 4.2

A strong desire to do or have something

is a general strong wish without the restless or nagging quality
want
vshankering
27 1.0

A strong desire for something you wish to have

is a stronger, more specific wish rather than an ordinary need or wish
yearning
vshankering
8 5.5

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

is a strong wish but usually without the continuous persistent emphasis
yen
vshankering
5 7.5

A strong desire for something

is similar but often less sudden or less strongly felt
appetence
vshankering
9.9

A strong desire to have or do something

is a general strong wish without the bodily hunger focus
appetency
vshankering
9.9

A strong wish to have or try something

is the general idea of a strong wish rather than the emotional emphasis
appetition
vshankering
  • Archaic
9.9

A strong wish to have or achieve something

is the everyday term for the same feeling rather than academic language

Antonyms

31 6.5

A strong dislike of something or someone

5 5.8

Not feeling interested in something, like a talk or task

How Strong

craving
78 3.7
yearning
8 5.5
hankering
11 6.6
desire
1.6
wish
474 1.0

Surface Forms

hankering singular
hankerings plural

Morphology

hankering = hanker (transparent) = hanker + ing

The word 'hankering' is transparently derived from the verb 'hanker' with the addition of the suffix '-ing', indicating a noun form of the action.

Etymology

Hankering comes from the older verb hanker, which means 'to long for'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of the feeling like hunger — a strong, lasting want for something. So a hankering is a strong desire or longing for something.