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

Alice Ribes, emergency country director for the International Rescue Committee in Haiti, said millions continue to face a worsening crisis marked by escalating violence, hunger and starvation, forced displacement of people from their homes and outbreaks of disease. —Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2026

An increase in deaths of seabirds along California’s coastline, including San Diego, is believed to be from starvation that many believe is linked to a persistent ocean heat wave. —Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026

Food shortages were common, starvation and illness were stark realities. —Marcy Thompson, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2026

They were promised all basic needs, but ended up trapped in North Korea’s poverty and starvation. —Anthony Kuhn, NPR, 16 Apr. 2026

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