Hangry is hungry + angry: bad-tempered because you need food. I get hangry if the meeting runs through lunch. It's a jokey word from chat and social media. Saying it about yourself is fine, but calling someone hangry mid-argument suggests they're only upset because they're hungry. In an essay: irritable because of hunger.
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be / feel / get hangry; hungry + angry
- I get hangry if the afternoon meeting runs through lunch.
- Let's find a café before everyone gets hangry.
- Sorry I sounded impatient; I was tired and hangry.
What changed
First versionMy boss was hangry because I was late.
RevisionMy boss was angry because I was late.
Hangry is easy to take as a trendy word for angry in general. But hunger is the key part: a boss who is annoyed about lateness is simply angry. Keep hangry for someone who skipped lunch and snapped.
Hungry means needing food; angry means cross for any reason. Hangry means cross because of hunger. For writing and essays, use something neutral: irritable because of hunger or bad-tempered after skipping lunch.
Your turn
Which sentence uses hangry correctly?
Show the answer
I skipped lunch and was hangry all afternoon. — Hangry means cross because of hunger, and skipping lunch explains it. The boss is annoyed about lateness, not hunger, so that's just angry.
Write to a friend about how a late lunch ruined your mood.
We stopped for sandwiches because the long journey was making us hangry.
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