Meaning & use
haunched
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounliterary
Having a particular kind of haunches, meaning the hips and upper thighs of an animal or person.
Grammar: Usually part of a compound: a strong-haunched horse.
Patterns
- broad-haunched
- strong-haunched
The strong-haunched stallion leaped the fence.
A broad-haunched wrestler stepped into the ring.
The painter showed a lean, high-haunched greyhound.
adjectiveafter a verbliterary
Sitting or crouching with the body bent and the haunches lowered, as if ready to spring or hiding.
Grammar: Used after be or a verb like sit: he sat haunched over the fire.
Patterns
- sit haunched over something
- haunched on something
He sat haunched over his desk, writing in the dim light.
The cat was haunched in the grass, watching the bird.
The old man stayed haunched beside the fire.
Common combinations
- haunched over
- She sat haunched over her notebook.
- haunched down
- The hunter stayed haunched down in the reeds.
- haunched like a cat
- He was haunched like a cat ready to jump.
- broad-haunched
- The broad-haunched ox pulled the cart.
- haunched against the wind
- They stood haunched against the wind.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hunched
- Hunched is the usual word for being bent forward at the shoulders and is far more common than haunched.
- crouched
- Crouched means bent low with knees bent, and it can suggest hiding or readiness.
- squatting
- Squatting means sitting on your heels, which is more specific than haunched.
- stooped
- Stooped suggests bending forward from the back, often from age or to pass under something.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: haunched or hunched? haunched or haunted?
haunched vs hunched
Hunched means bent over at the shoulders, and it is much more common than haunched, which relates to haunches.
haunched vs haunted
Haunted means visited by ghosts or troubled by memories.
Practice
Which word is the more common choice for a person sitting with rounded shoulders over a laptop?
Choose one answer.
Hunched is the normal word for rounded shoulders. Haunched is rare and literary, haunted means visited by ghosts, and hounded means chased.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “haunched”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.