power hunger
- noun
:
ansia de poder
- Her power hunger was evident as she schemed to undermine her colleagues for a promotion.
But point being, these power, the these powers that be have maintained this control by power hunger manipulation for years.
- But point being, these power, the these powers that be have maintained this control by power hunger manipulation for years.
Examples
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Newspaper headlines such as "Japan stokes China sea dispute" and "China's power hunger trumps Japan diplomacy" give some indication of how these issues are being reported globally.
Academic text (2005) -
For an easy example of Democrat power hunger, here in California, they passed a bill that removed all third parties from the ballot for Congressional elections.
Blog text (2) -
Not with the power hunger we have seen among Democrats, in my opinion.
Blog text (28) -
But point being, these power, the these powers that be have maintained this control by power hunger manipulation for years.
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or manipulative people with no morals and power hunger
Blog text (29) -
Which is easier to believe... manipulative people with no morals and power hunger willing to collude together to win...
Blog text (29) -
The politician's power hunger drove him to make unethical decisions that betrayed his constituents.
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Many leaders fall victim to power hunger, prioritizing their ambitions over the welfare of their people.
Synonyms
293
1.9
A strong selfish wish for more, especially money or power
78
3.7
A very strong desire for things like food or cigarettes
1
5.3
Wanting to be seen as important and respected by other people
How Power-Hungry
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an intense desire for power' is directly derivable from combining 'power' (ability to influence) with 'hunger' (a strong craving), following the common metaphorical pattern 'hunger for X'. This compositional logic is cross-linguistically common and appears in related English forms (e.g., 'hunger for power', 'power-hungry'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Power hunger comes from a simple picture: someone with hunger for power, like a person who cannot stop reaching for food but instead reaches for more control. So, power hunger means a very strong, often unhealthy, desire for 'power' or 'control'.