Strong intuitive feelings or suspicions about something without conscious reasoning. Rounded projections or humps, as on someone's back.
The intuitive sense comes from American English around 1900, possibly from the physical sense of 'hunch' meaning a hump or protrusion (16th century). The connection may be metaphorical - a hunch 'sticks out' in our consciousness like a physical hump.
Scientists have discovered that 'hunches' or gut feelings often represent rapid, unconscious processing of subtle environmental cues that our conscious mind hasn't yet recognized. This makes hunches surprisingly accurate in familiar domains where we have extensive experience, validating the old saying about trusting your instincts.
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