Meaning

present participle and gerund of hanker.

Definitions by Sense

1. present participle and gerund of hanker
2. (often followed by for or after) A strong, restless desire, longing, or mental inclination.

Example Sentences

"[…] You don't mean," Mr. Osborne continued, gathering wrath and astonishment as the thought now first came upon him; "you don't mean that he's such a d—— fool as to be still hankering after that swindling old bankrupt's daughter? […]"

One may say that hankering after naughty things is the very essence of the evil into which we have been precipitated by Adam's fall.

[T]here is a clear sense that Britain is hankering for a change at the top.

I found that he had dipped a little in chimerical studies and had a hankering after astrology and alchymy.

Mr. Hall thinks he has no personal hatred of Moore; he says he even likes to talk to him, and run after him, but he has a hankering that he should be made an example of.

But there was one yet - the biggest, the most blank, so to speak - that I had a hankering after.

"Some people are fond of a stay-at-home life, but I always had a hankering after adventures."

“It looks wrong to me. But I have a hankering to work the thing out on my own. […]”

Word Forms

• hankerings

Synonyms for hankering

Related Words

When Should You Use Hankering?

Use hankering when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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