starvation

Noun
Synonyms: famishmentstarving

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

  1. a state of extreme hunger resulting from lack of essential nutrients over a prolonged periodSynonyms: famishment
  2. the act of depriving of food or subjecting to famine“the besiegers used starvation to induce surrender”“they were charged with the starvation of children in their care”Synonyms: starving
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Starvation \Star*va"tion\ (st[aum]r*v[=a]"sh[u^]n), n. The act of starving, or the state of being starved. [1913 Webster]

Note: This word was first used, according to Horace Walpole, by Henry Dundas, the first Lord Melville, in a speech on American affairs in 1775, which obtained for him the nickname of Starvation Dundas. "Starvation, we are also told, belongs to the class of 'vile compounds' from being a mongrel; as if English were not full of mongrels, and as if it would not be in distressing straits without them." --Fitzed. Hall. [1913 Webster]

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