Adjacent Words

Hanker definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HANK'ER, v.i.
1. To long for with a keen appetite and uneasiness; in a literal sense; as, to hanker for fruit, or after fruit.
2. To have a vehement desire of something, accompanied with uneasiness; as, to hanker after the diversions of the town.
It is usually followed by after. It is a familiar, but not a low word.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: desire strongly or persistently [syn: hanker, long, yearn]

Merriam Webster's

intransitive verb (hankered; hankering) Etymology: probably from Dutch dialect hankeren Date: 1627 to have a strong or persistent desire ; yearn — often used with for or after Synonyms: see long • hankerer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.intr. (foll. by for, after, or to + infin.) long for; crave. Derivatives: hankerer n. hankering n. Etymology: obs. hank, prob. rel. to HANG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hanker Han"ker, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Hankered; p. pr. & vb. n. Hankering.] [Prob. fr. hang; cf. D. hunkeren, hengelen.] 1. To long (for) with a keen appetite and uneasiness; to have a vehement desire; -- usually with for or after; as, to hanker after fruit; to hanker after the diversions of the town. --Addison. He was hankering to join his friend. --J. A. Symonds. 2. To linger in expectation or with desire. --Thackeray.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(hankers, hankering, hankered) If you hanker after something, you want it very much. I hankered after a floor-length brown suede coat. VERB: V after/for n, also V to-inf

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To hanker after any thing; to have a longing after or for it.

Moby Thesaurus

ache, covet, crave, desire, fancy, hunger, hunger after, hunger for, itch for, long for, lust, lust after, lust for, pine, pine for, sigh, thirst, thirst after, thirst for, want, wish, yearn, yearn for, yen