Definition

1. Noun:
   • A strong and often excessive desire to gain, hold, or increase personal power, authority, or control over others. It describes an intense, sometimes obsessive, motivation where the accumulation of influence is a primary goal.

Usage

• The term is typically used in a critical or negative context to describe the behavior of individuals in politics, business, or other hierarchical structures.
• It functions as a singular, uncountable noun (e.g., "his power hunger," "their power hunger").
• It often explains actions that seem ruthless, manipulative, or overly ambitious.

Examples

• The CEO's power hunger led to a toxic corporate culture where collaboration was impossible.
• Historians often cite the king's insatiable power hunger as the cause of the prolonged war.
• Her political strategy was not driven by ideology but by pure power hunger.

Advanced Usage

• "to be driven by power hunger": to have one's actions motivated primarily by the desire for power.
  • The coup was not about reform; the generals were driven by sheer power hunger.
• "a hunger for power": This is a more common phrasing with the same meaning. "Power hunger" is a more condensed, nominalized form.
  • His actions revealed a profound hunger for power.

Variants and Related Words

• Power-hungry (adjective): Having or showing a strong desire for power.
  • The power-hungry dictator ignored the needs of his people.
• Ambition (noun): A strong desire to achieve something. (This is a more neutral term; "power hunger" implies ambition specifically for dominance.)
• Megalomania (noun): An obsession with the exercise of power, especially in the domination of others. (This is a stronger, more pathological term.)

Synonyms

• Lust for power
• Craving for authority
• Drive for dominance
• Will to power (a more philosophical term)

Related Idioms/Phrases

• "Thirst for power": An idiom with a nearly identical meaning to "hunger for power."
  • The rebellion was fueled by the general's unquenchable thirst for power.

Noun

1. a drive to acquire power