hunky

1 of 2

adjective

hunkier; hunkiest
: being a hunk : attractive and usually well-built
the film's hunky leading man

Hunky

2 of 2

noun

Hun·​ky ˈhəŋ-kē How to pronounce Hunky (audio)
variants or less commonly Hunkie
plural Hunkies
dated, usually disparaging + offensive
: a person of central or east European birth or descent

Examples of hunky in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The late Patrick Swayze, PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive in 1991, played a hunky, lovelorn spirit in 1990's Ghost. John Russell, People.com, 31 Oct. 2024 Ron Ely, the hunky and handsome Texas native who portrayed the Lord of the Jungle on the first Tarzan series for television, has died, his daughter Kirsten told Fox News Digital. Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024 She was also notably engaged to singer Michael Bolton from 2006 to 2008 after having dated on and off. 06 of 12 James Denton (Mike Delfino) James Denton played Mike Delfino, the hunky and mysterious plumber who marries Susan twice over the course of the show. Danny Horn, EW.com, 3 Oct. 2024 Perry then gets tossed from her moving automotive dance platform, falling into the arms of her hunky love interest, clad in nothing but skimpy white underwear. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 13 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hunky 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hunky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

alteration of Hungarian

First Known Use

Adjective

1972, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1896, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hunky was circa 1896

Dictionary Entries Near hunky

Cite this Entry

“Hunky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunky. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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