hungrily

hungrily — adverb

1. with a strong desire to eat, shown through quick or eager actions

1.adverbB1
Definition

with a strong desire to eat, shown through quick or eager actions

Example

Hamza ate his dinner hungrily after a long day of hiking.

modifies ate in eating context

The puppy lapped at the bowl of milk hungrily, finishing it in seconds.

verb + hungrily + preposition phrase

Common collocations
  • eat hungrily
  • devour hungrily
  • grab hungrily
  • lap hungrily at
Synonyms
  • ravenously

    stronger intensity; suggests extreme, almost wild hunger

  • greedily

    focuses on taking more than one's share, often with negative connotation

  • eagerly

    broader; can describe any enthusiastic action, not just eating

Antonyms
  • half-heartedly

    without energy or interest, the opposite of eager eating

Grammar Patterns

hungrily + verb

verb + hungrily

Common Mistakes

I ate hungrily' (used alone without context).
I ate hungrily after skipping breakfast.
The sentence needs a clear reason for the hunger to sound natural.

2. with great eagerness and a strong wish to obtain or experience something that is

2.adverbB2
Definition

with great eagerness and a strong wish to obtain or experience something that is not food

Example

Yan read the letter from his sister hungrily, eager for news of home.

modifies read; figurative consumption

The young journalist hungrily followed every lead, hoping for a big story.

Common collocations
  • read hungrily
  • listen hungrily
  • look hungrily at
  • absorb hungrily
  • follow hungrily
Synonyms
  • eagerly

    more common and less intense; neutral register

  • avidly

    suggests deep, sustained interest; slightly more formal

  • greedily

    often carries a negative tone of taking too much

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

hungrily + verb

verb + hungrily

Usage Note

Common with verbs of perceiving or taking in information (read, listen, watch, absorb). In this figurative sense, the object is always something non-edible—knowledge, opportunity, experience, or attention.

Common Mistakes

She hungrily ate the book.
She hungrily read the book.
'Eat' is for food; use 'read', 'absorb', or 'devour' (figurative) with non-food objects.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/2

All four describe doing something with strong desire, but they differ in intensity and connotation. Eagerly is the most neutral and common—it simply shows enthusiasm without judgment ("she eagerly signed up for the course"). Avidly suggests deep, ongoing interest, typically for intellectual or recreational pursuits ("he avidly collected vintage maps"). Greedily carries a negative tone, implying taking more than one's fair share ("they greedily grabbed the last tickets"). Voraciously is the most intense, originally for eating ("eating voraciously") but used figuratively for consuming information or experiences at a rapid, almost insatiable pace ("she voraciously read every novel in the library"). Hungrily sits between eagerly and voraciously—it conveys urgent need rather than mere enthusiasm, but without the negative judgment of greedily.

eagerly ↗avidly ↗greedily ↗voraciously

Common collocations

Phrases

  • eat hungrily
  • read hungrily
  • look hungrily at
  • absorb hungrily

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Hungrily comes from the adjective hungry (Old English hungrig) plus the adverbial suffix -ly. Hungry itself traces back to Proto-Germanic *hungrugaz, from *hungruz ('hunger'). The literal sense has been in English since the 700s. By the 1300s, the word had developed a figurative meaning—wanting anything with intense desire, not just food.