What does hungrily mean?
Hungrily is an adverb meaning that someone eats, looks, or acts with intense eagerness and appetite. It is often used for people who are very hungry and eat quickly, but it can also describe an intense desire for something beyond food, as in looking hungrily at a desirable opportunity. The word is expressive rather than formal, and it carries a vivid sense of urgency and strong appetite. For example, children may eat hungrily after school, while a hungry investor might look hungrily at a promising property. Derived from the adjective hungry, hungrily is especially useful when describing enthusiastic or ravenous behavior in a clear, natural way.
adverbIn a way that shows a strong desire to eat or obtain something. It can also describe eating with eager appetite.
- With eager appetite; in a greedy or ravenous manner.
"The children ate the cookies hungrily."
"After the long hike, we ate our lunch hungrily."
"She looked hungrily at the freshly baked bread."
Hungrily captures the moment when hunger transforms ordinary eating into an urgent, focused feast.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hungrily come from?
Hungrily is formed from hungry by the addition of the adverbial suffix -ly. Hungry comes from Old English hūngrig, meaning 'having hunger' or 'hungry,' and is related to the Old English noun hūngr, the source of the modern noun hunger. The related adjective hunger-stricken also preserves the same semantic field of severe hunger. English has many adjectives ending in -y that can take -ly to form adverbs.
How hungrily is actually used
The adverb is natural and commonly used in both everyday speech and writing. It can describe eating, looking at food, or figuratively wanting something very strongly.