hunch

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableinformal

   A feeling that something is true or will happen, based on instinct and not on proof.

   Grammar: Countable: a hunch, have a hunch. Often followed by that or about.

   Patterns

   • have a hunch that
   • a hunch about something

   I have a hunch that the bus will be late.

   She played a hunch and chose the red door.

   His hunch about the missing keys turned out to be right.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitive

   To bend your back and shoulders forward so that your body is rounded.

   Grammar: Often with over: hunch over a desk; or with a part of the body: hunch your shoulders.

   Patterns

   • hunch over something
   • hunch your shoulders

   He hunched over the keyboard for hours.

   The children hunched against the cold wind.

   She hunched her shoulders and said nothing.

Word forms

Common combinations

have a hunch

I have a hunch he'll call tonight.

follow a hunch

The detective followed a hunch and went back to the house.

play a hunch

They played a hunch and invested early.

hunch over

Don't hunch over your phone.

a strong hunch

I had a strong hunch that something was wrong.

Synonyms and how they differ

intuition

Intuition is the general ability to know without reasoning, while a hunch is one particular guess that comes from it.

gut feeling

Gut feeling is more informal and stresses an emotional sense, whereas a hunch can be a calm guess.

suspicion

Suspicion usually means a doubt about wrongdoing, but a hunch can be about anything and need not be negative.

Word family

hunched adjective

bent forward with rounded shoulders

hunchback noun

an offensive word for a person with a curved upper back

hunching noun

the act of bending forward

Commonly confused: hunch or haunch?

Practice

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