hunching

Bending your spine

Hunching is drawing up or rounding the body, especially the shoulders and back, into a cramped or curved posture.

People hunch over desks, hunch against the cold, or hunch their shoulders when tense or defensive: She sat hunching over her laptop for hours.

The word suggests protective contraction or poor posture.

posture

slouching

Poor postural alignment

stoopingBending body forward
crouchingBending low, knees bent
roundedHaving no sharp angles

curved · slumped · bent · contracted · arched · kyphosis · compressed · concave · sagging · misaligned

movement

bending

Curving from straight

leaningTendency toward something
curvingBending in arc
flexingContracting muscles voluntarily

bowing · folding · inclining · ducking · dipping · curling · contracting · crooking · drawing in · pulling inward

Categories

defensive gesturesflinching, cowering, cringing, ducking, recoiling
body languagegestures, facial expressions, hand gestures, posture, nodding
body movementsflexion, bend, twist, standing, extension
body positionslying down, flat, upright, standing, sitting
postureposture, posture corrector, upright, slouch, slouching
idle actionsfidgeting, waiting, twiddling thumbs, daydreaming, lounging

Opposites

posture/body position

hunchingstanding tall

Remaining proudly upright

straightening · stretching · sitting upright · standing upright · extending

Family

hunch, hunched, hunchback, hunches, hunchbacked, hunchbacks, hunch over

Familiarity: Top 100,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G