hunch

hunch Definition

hunch (hunc̸h)

transitive verb

to draw (one's body, etc.) up so as to form a hump; arch into a hump

Etymology: < ?

intransitive verb

noun

a hump
a chunk; lump; hunk
☆ a guess or feeling not based on known facts; premonition or suspicion: from the superstition that it brings good luck to touch a hunchback

hunch Synonyms

Hump
protuberance, bump, swelling; see bulge, hump, hill, lump.
*Intuition
idea, notion, feeling, premonition, presage, forecast, presentiment, instinct, expectation, anticipation, foreknowledge, preconceived notion, forewisdom, omination, precognition, preapprehension, prescience, forewarning, clue, presagement, foreboding, boding, prenotice, prenotation, augury, auguration, hint, portent, apprehension, misgiving, qualm, suspicion, inkling, glimmer; see also thought 2.

hunch Synonyms

arch, draw together, cower, bunch; see bow 1, lean 1.

hunch Usage Examples

Object

shoulder: Don't duck your head down, keep your shoulders hunched up & slowly stand up straight.
posture: Examples of side effects include, hunched posture, hair standing on end, lack of movement.
figure: Just two figures hunched over laptops in darkness, arms occasionally reaching through the field of light cast by a carefully positioned lamp.
hour: Several hours hunched over my laptop, giving myself a sore wrist in the process, I hereby offer my findings.
man: The coat stand at the bottom of the stairs looked like a hunched old man with the many coats covering it.

Converse of object

have: Can't see why Mother doesn't mention Dad, have a hunch he has gone I wonder.
follow: Watch what the newspapers say or follow a hunch.
get: I've got a hunch that the main photo used on the box is also out of period.

Preposition: over

desk: Carrying out archival research hunched over a desk at the British Library was just not an option.
wheel: You mustn't be hunched over the steering wheel or feel the need to grip it tightly.
computer: On the first floor, above the Flying Squirrels knitting shop, in cramped rooms men are hunched over computers.
table: The liveried usher escorted me to the front where the Judge hunched over the table like a weathered gargoyle.

Adjective modifier

Modifying Another Word

slightly: The entity now standing slightly hunched to my right, only six feet away, is Death.
forward: At the back of the lagoon, three gray heron sat hunched forward, peering into the water.
back: He was past his fastest and his best, but still an awesome sight - back hunched, .. .
not: Your shoulders should be relaxed, not hunched forward or rigidly held back.

Followed by an intransitive particle

over: Frank danced slightly hunched over like a driver afraid at the wheel.
up: Hunched up against the cutting cold in our tiny sleeping bags, we try to get to sleep.

Noun used with modifier

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