famish

Verb

Synonyms: starve hunger

WordNet 3.0

be hungry; go without food“Let's eat--I'm starving!”Synonyms: starve hunger
deprive of food“They starved the prisoners”Synonyms: starve
die of food deprivation“The political prisoners starved to death”“Many famished in the countryside during the drought”Synonyms: starve

Famish \Fam"ish\, v. i.

1.To die of hunger; to starve. [1913 Webster]

2.To suffer extreme hunger or thirst, so as to be exhausted in strength, or to come near to perish. [1913 Webster]

You are all resolved rather to die than to famish?— Shak.[1913 Webster]

3.To suffer extremity from deprivation of anything essential or necessary. [1913 Webster]

The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish.— Prov. x. 3.[1913 Webster]

Famish \Fam"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Famished; p. pr. & vb. n. Famishing.] [OE. famen; cf. OF. afamer, L. fames. See Famine, and cf. Affamish.]

1.To starve, kill, or destroy with hunger. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2.To exhaust the strength or endurance of, by hunger; to distress with hanger. [1913 Webster]

And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread.— Cen. xli. 55.[1913 Webster]

The pains of famished Tantalus he'll feel.— Dryden.[1913 Webster]

3.To kill, or to cause to suffer extremity, by deprivation or denial of anything necessary. [1913 Webster]

And famish him of breath, if not of bread.— Milton.[1913 Webster]

4.To force or constrain by famine. [1913 Webster]

He had famished Paris into a surrender.— Burke.[1913 Webster]