Finesentence

Hung Meaning: Definition, Examples, and Translations

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hung

hung

🇺🇸 /ˈhəŋ/ · 🇬🇧 /hˈʌŋ/

Definitions

Context #1 | Verb

suspending something

The term 'hung' refers to the past tense of the verb 'hang', which means to suspend or attach something from above. This can refer to items like picture frames or clothing that are hung for display or storage.

Synonyms

attached, dangled, suspended.

Examples of usage

  • She hung the painting on the wall.
  • He hung his coat on the hook.
  • The boy hung the bird feeder from the tree.
Context #2 | Adjective

past participle

'Hung' can also describe the state of something that has been suspended. For example, when a person is 'hung out to dry', it indicates they have been left in a difficult situation without support.

Synonyms

dangled, suspended.

Examples of usage

  • The clothes are hung out to dry.
  • He felt hung out to dry after the betrayal.
  • The decorations were hung beautifully.

Translations

To see the translation, please select a language from the options available.

Quick facts about “hung”

Hung is a 1-syllable verb and adjective. It is pronounced /ˈhəŋ/ in American English and /hˈʌŋ/ in British English. On finesentence.com it has 2 meanings, 5 synonyms, and translations into 21 languages. It ranks #3,646 among the most common English words.

Origin of 'hung'

The word 'hang' has Old English origins with the word 'hangian', which meant to cause to hang. It has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Old Norse 'hengja' and German 'hangen'. The usage of 'hung' as the past tense and past participle of 'hang' developed in Middle English, with the change in pronunciation reflecting shifts in the language. Notably, a distinction arose between uses related to physical suspension and others in idiomatic expressions. The evolution of this term demonstrates how language adapts over time, but also how certain phrases remain rooted in the history of human experience.

Rhymes

Hung rhymes with gung, kung, among, young, tongue, lung, swung and sung.

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Word Frequency Rank

Ranking #3,646, this word is part of upper-intermediate vocabulary. While not among the most basic terms, it appears often enough to be valuable for advanced communication.