Definitions for: Starve


[v] die of food deprivation; "The political prisoners starved to death"; "Many famished in the countryside during the drought"
[v] deprive of food; "They starved the prisoners"
[v] deprive of a necessity and cause suffering; "he is starving her of love"; "The engine was starved of fuel"
[v] be hungry; go without food; "Let's eat--I'm starving!"
[v] have a craving, appetite, or great desire for



Webster (1913) Definition: Starve, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Starved; 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.

In hot coals he hath himself raked . . . Thus
starved this worthy mighty Hercules. --Chaucer.

2. To perish with hunger; to suffer extreme hunger or want;
to be very indigent.

Sometimes virtue starves, while vice is fed. --Pope.

3. To perish or die with cold. --Spenser.

Have I seen the naked starve for cold? --Sandys.

Starving with cold as well as hunger. --W. Irving.

Note: In this sense, still common in England, but rarely used
of the United States.


Starve, v. t.
1. To destroy with cold. [Eng.]

From beds of raging fire, to starve in ice Their
soft ethereal warmth. --Milton.

2. To kill with hunger; as, maliciously to starve a man is,
in law, murder.

3. To distress or subdue by famine; as, to starvea garrison
into a surrender.

Attalus endeavored to starve Italy by stopping their
convoy of provisions from Africa. --Arbuthnot.

4. To destroy by want of any kind; as, to starve plans by
depriving them of proper light and air.

5. To deprive of force or vigor; to disable.

The pens of historians, writing thereof, seemed
starved for matter in an age so fruitful of
memorable actions. --Fuller.

The powers of their minds are starved by disuse.
--Locke.

Synonyms: crave, famish, lust, thirst

Antonyms: be full, feed, give

See Also: decease, deprive, desire, die, exit, expire, go, hunger, hurt, pass, pass away, perish, starve, suffer, want

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