famished

adjective

fam·​ished ˈfa-misht 

1

: suffering extreme hunger

… described famished people walking long distances … to escape from drought and violence …

—Emma Farge and Abdi Sheikh

also : needy sense 1

2

: very hungry

… famished students looking for an affordable, filling lunch …

—Anna Domownik

Synonyms of famished

• hungry
• starving
• starved

Examples of famished in a Sentence

What's for supper? I'm famished.

after a full day of skiing, I was feeling absolutely famished

Recent Examples on the Web

Supporting small business is another core Fat Cake tenet, which means giving advance warning to bakeries that a famished horde of up to 125 bicyclists is on the way. —Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Mar. 2026

Hiking the craggy landscape of Pinnacles National Park, forged by volcanic eruptions so long ago, might leave one as famished as a California condor — which indeed call these badlands home. —John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026

Last year, the Arizona Department of Game and Fish recorded a spike in human-bear conflicts, evidence that food scarcity was driving famished bears into human territory. —Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026

The famished can enjoy acai bowls, smoothies, toasts (avocado or almond butter and jam), sandwiches, pastries and wraps. —Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 17 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1