starvation

noun

star·​va·​tion stär-ˈvā-shən 

1

: the act or an instance of starving

2

: the state of being starved

Examples of starvation in a Sentence

The famine brought mass starvation.

Millions of people face starvation every day.

Recent Examples on the Web

Born in the then-Austro-Hungarian Empire, the 85-year-old said his family was put in a labor camp, subject to starvation. —Lisa Rozner, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025

With crops failing and fears of starvation rising, some wealthy Italian city-states like Florence and Venice imported grain from elsewhere in the world. —Evan Bush, NBC news, 4 Dec. 2025

After two years of war, Sudan is described as a nightmare of violence, disease and starvation. —Laura Kelly, The Hill, 29 Nov. 2025

But when the herds bordered on extinction, Sitting Bull and his followers faced starvation, and were forced to surrender at Fort Buford in 1881, ending his long struggle to maintain his freedom. —Patrick Springer, Twin Cities, 26 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1762, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing starvation

• starvation diet
• starvation wages

Rhymes for starvation

• ablation
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• collation

Kids Definition

starvation

noun

star·​va·​tion stär-ˈvā-shən 

: the act or an instance of starving : the state of being starved

Medical Definition

starvation

noun

star·​va·​tion stär-ˈvā-shən 

1

: the act or an instance of starving

2

: the state of being starved