starving

Noun · Adjective

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

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: starvation

Adjective (1)

suffering from lack of foodSynonyms: starved

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

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.[1913 Webster]

2.To perish with hunger; to suffer extreme hunger or want; to be very indigent. [1913 Webster]

Sometimes virtue starves, while vice is fed.— Pope.[1913 Webster]

3.To perish or die with cold. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

Have I seen the naked starve for cold?— Sandys.[1913 Webster]

Starving with cold as well as hunger.— W. Irving.[1913 Webster]

Note: In this sense, still common in England, but rarely used in the United States. [1913 Webster]