starvation

noun

star·​va·​tion stär-ˈvā-shən How to pronounce starvation (audio)
1
: the act or an instance of starving
2
: the state of being starved

Example Sentences

The famine brought mass starvation. Millions of people face starvation every day.
Recent Examples on the Web As the saying goes, more startups die of indigestion than of starvation. Seth Joseph, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023 Many rural families, facing starvation, flocked to Port-au-Prince to seek scarce factory jobs. Marlene L. Daut, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2023 In chapters centered on the edible plants she was forced to forage to avoid starvation, Dowd (now an academic and journalist) charts her path to freedom with remarkable clarity. Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023 Five seasons of failed rains, linked to climate change, have hit 7.8 million Somalis, 300,000 of whom are experiencing severe starvation. Declan Walsh Andrea Bruce, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2022 Some 20,000 Haitians are facing starvation, according to the United Nations, the vast majority of whom are located in the capital. Websder Corneille, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Feb. 2023 Amin, center, jumped into the water rather than face starvation when his boat to Malaysia got stranded at sea, according to his father, Jamal Hussain, left. Tanbirul Miraj Ripon, NBC News, 1 Feb. 2023 The San Diego Medical Examiner’s office did not report starvation as the cause of death of any homeless person in the county over the past year, but people living on the street do go hungry. San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Feb. 2023 Given that over 200 million boxes of cookies are sold each year, that’s a lot of girls fending off a lot of snarky remarks about bathing suit season or earning the confection through extra workouts or starvation. Dr. Katie Hurley, CNN, 8 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'starvation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1762, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of starvation was in 1762

Dictionary Entries Near starvation

Cite this Entry

“Starvation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/starvation. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.

Kids Definition

starvation

noun
star·​va·​tion stär-ˈvā-shən How to pronounce starvation (audio)
: the act or an instance of starving : the state of being starved

Medical Definition

starvation

noun
star·​va·​tion stär-ˈvā-shən How to pronounce starvation (audio)
1
: the act or an instance of starving
2
: the state of being starved
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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