hunch
n. countablen. a feeling or guess that something is true, even if you do not have proof yet. It is like a 'gut feeling' about a situation.
n. an intuitive feeling or suspicion regarding a fact or event, reached without explicit evidence. Often used with the verbs 'have', 'follow', or 'act on'.
I have a hunch that it will rain today.
The detective decided to follow a hunch and check the warehouse, even though there was no physical evidence pointing there yet.
While the data was inconclusive, the lead researcher acted on a persistent hunch that the chemical reaction required a lower temperature than previously published studies suggested.
Assibilated variant of hunk, of uncertain origin. Alternatively, a derivative of hump, via an earlier Middle English hunche, humpchin, from *hump + -chin, -chen (diminutive suffix), equivalent to hump + -kin. In the sense of an intuitive impression, said to be from the old gambling superstition that it brings luck to touch the hump of a hunchback.
Commonly paired with the preposition 'that' followed by a clause, or 'about' followed by a noun phrase.