[syn: crave, hunger, thirst, starve, lust]
5. deprive of a necessity and cause suffering;
- Example: "he is starving her of love"
- Example: "The engine was starved of fuel"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Starve \Starve\ (st[aum]rv), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Starved
(st[aum]rvd); p. pr. & vb. n. Starving.] [OE. sterven to
die, AS. steorfan; akin to D. sterven, G. sterben, OHG.
sterban, Icel. starf labor, toil.]
1. To die; to perish. [Obs., except in the sense of perishing
with cold or hunger.] --Lydgate.
[1913 Webster]
In hot coals he hath himself raked . . .
Thus starved this worthy mighty Hercules. --Chaucer.
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2. To perish with hunger; to suffer extreme hunger or want;
to be very indigent.
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Sometimes virtue starves, while vice is fed. --Pope.
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3. To perish or die with cold. --Spenser.
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Have I seen the naked starve for cold? --Sandys.
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Starving with cold as well as hunger. --W. Irving.
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Note: In this sense, still common in England, but rarely used
in the United States.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Starve \Starve\, v. t.
1. To destroy with cold. [Eng.]
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From beds of raging fire, to starve in ice
Their soft ethereal warmth. --Milton.
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2. To kill with hunger; as, maliciously to starve a man is,
in law, murder.
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3. To distress or subdue by famine; as, to starve a garrison
into a surrender.
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Attalus endeavored to starve Italy by stopping their
convoy of provisions from Africa. --Arbuthnot.
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4. To destroy by want of any kind; as, to starve plants by
depriving them of proper light and air.
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5. To deprive of force or vigor; to disable.
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The pens of historians, writing thereof, seemed
starved for matter in an age so fruitful of
memorable actions. --Fuller.
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The powers of their minds are starved by disuse.
--Locke.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
starve
v 1: be hungry; go without food; "Let's eat--I'm starving!"
[syn: starve, hunger, famish] [ant: be full]
2: die of food deprivation; "The political prisoners starved to
death"; "Many famished in the countryside during the drought"
[syn: starve, famish]
3: deprive of food; "They starved the prisoners" [syn: starve,
famish] [ant: feed, give]
4: have a craving, appetite, or great desire for [syn: crave,
hunger, thirst, starve, lust]
5: deprive of a necessity and cause suffering; "he is starving
her of love"; "The engine was starved of fuel"