Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

hanker

[hang-ker] / ˈhæŋ kər /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Even if he does still hanker after a prominent political role, he will almost certainly be barred from getting one.

From BBC May 10, 2026

It’s enough to make a reader hanker for a volume devoted to the director’s long working relationship with Head or for a filmography refracted through the actresses he obsessed over and glorified.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 31, 2025

Those communities also hanker for weather radar to track incoming squalls, Way says.

From Science Magazine Mar. 8, 2023

When bat droppings are scarce, female Neotrogla hanker for sperm, which is encased in nutritious capsules called spermatophores.

From New York Times Jan. 10, 2023

We hanker to go on, even in the face of plain evidence that long, long lives are not necessarily pleasurable in the kind of society we have arranged thus far.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Restaurants can run with seating limitations, but few are — nobody hankers for sit-down, Iowa Chops until they know the real score.

From Washington Post May 28, 2020

For the designer Sandy Liang, who recently sponsored a pop-up shop on her island, it is a consumer who hankers for playfulness in a fashion world that often takes itself too seriously.

From New York Times May 6, 2020

But whereas Johnson craves fame, Stewart hankers for something more like the abyss.

From The New Yorker Jun. 19, 2019

And if Meghan hankers for a stretch of sand to remind her of home, then we recommend she heads to West Wittering with its colourful beach huts.

From BBC May 19, 2018

If a man hankers for visions, he should do it in public, where it does us some good. second priest: It doesn’t look right, beloved friend, wandering around in the middle of the night.

From "Grendel" by John Gardner

Later in her career, she was, all too often, called upon to play "dragons" and "old bags" when she hankered after more glamorous roles.

From BBC Oct. 28, 2025

Back then, fear of centralism sprang from populists such as William Jennings Bryan, who hankered for easier credit for farmers.

From Washington Post Jan. 21, 2022

Some hankered for u-turns in policies; some wanted an entirely new approach to governing.

From Reuters Jan. 20, 2017

The romantic in me hankered after that golden-age ambience, and Kingston’s plight seemed to sum up the decline of chess since it had been front-page news in the Fischer era.

From The Guardian Sep. 14, 2016

If he hankered for meat, Joe simply greased up his .30-06, hopped into the pickup, and went looking for it.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Nowadays, those hankering for a dose of first-person confessional need only open their TikTok feeds or turn on Bravo.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 5, 2026

Fans have been hankering for a follow-up to GTA 5 after it was released back in 2013, and became one of the best-selling games of all time.

From BBC Jun. 24, 2026

The stories frame the all-consuming desire for retaliation as an integral aspect of our mortal lives; no one gets out without hankering for a bit of vengeance.

From Salon May 19, 2026

It’s the absolute goal of every resort operator to satisfy that hankering.

From Slate Apr. 11, 2026

“Fadi and I had a hankering for your spicy chapli kebobs.”

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai




Vocabulary lists containing hanker


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training