Hangry

Tait-ka

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2024
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Urdu
Home Country
Pakistan
Current Location
Pakistan
<Hangry>
becoming angry because you are feeling hungry.

Example :
People often get hangry when their blood sugar level is low.

Source :

My teacher says that this word got into dictionaries just a few years ago. It's a new word.
Is that true?
 
It's only become commonly used in the last few years, in the UK at least. However, a quick Google search tells me that the OED's first recorded use is in 1918.
 
I'm surprised at the 1918 date. I don't remember when I first heard it, but it wasn't all that long ago. It's certainly become fairly common ever since, though. Maybe it fell out of use then came back recently.

This Ngram seems to support exactly that, but keep in mind Ngrams track only text, not spoken usage. It spiked in popularity about a decade ago. That's probably about when I first heard it.

Regardless, I think it's a great word. Succinctly captures the very essence of the emotion. I've used it myself on occasion.
 
Was it actually used in 1918, or is it a typo?
 
It doesn't appear to have been a typo as both hungry and hangry appear in the same sentence, written by Arthur Ransome. For some reason, I can't get into the link so here's a screenshot of what I found when I Googled "Arthur Ransome hangry":

Hangry.png
 

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