starvation

noun

star·​va·​tion stär-ˈvā-shən How to pronounce starvation (audio)
Synonyms of starvationnext
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
By the time the expedition reached the mouth of the Río Aguarico, a tributary of the Napo near the present-day border with Peru, Orellana had lost two-thirds of his men to starvation, disease, and attacks from the Native population. Stanley Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026 One of the bacteria, Tersicoccus phoenicis, is capable of playing dead to survive starvation and other stressors. Devika Rao, TheWeek, 9 Jan. 2026 That legendary multiyear circumnavigation, a 45-minute sequence marked by paranoia, hallucinations, death, disease, starvation, groaning silence and crushing despair, makes for one of the most casually brutal depictions of transoceanic voyaging ever committed to film. Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026 Yet the implicit presence of ‘The Whitsun Weddings,’ the precise dating of István’s wall-punching to the Pentecost weekend—these things tell us that while the prose may be on starvation rations, the novel itself is not. Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for starvation

Word History

First Known Use

1762, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of starvation was in 1762

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Cite this Entry

“Starvation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/starvation. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.

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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