1
as in hungry
feeling a desire or need for food
after a full day of skiing, I was feeling absolutely famished
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
a group of local citizens working to ease the plight of the famished families in their community
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of famished
On the outskirts of Wollongong, waking at dawn from its 20-hour nap, a famished, branch-hugging koala stretched its claw skyward for a fat, juicy green eucalyptus leaf.
—
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 2024
Her eyes, so Mesopotamian, now overwhelmed her famished face.
—Junot Díaz, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
In Jamaica, new arrivals were so famished and overworked that about half of them died within two or three years, said Vincent Brown, a history professor at Harvard.
—David Segal, New York Times, 8 July 2023
About 30 miles west of Space Town, Katy's food scene has emerged into something special for every famished foodie.
—Vicki Salemi, Chron, 23 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for famished
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 2024
Her eyes, so Mesopotamian, now overwhelmed her famished face.
—Junot Díaz, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
In Jamaica, new arrivals were so famished and overworked that about half of them died within two or three years, said Vincent Brown, a history professor at Harvard.
—David Segal, New York Times, 8 July 2023
About 30 miles west of Space Town, Katy's food scene has emerged into something special for every famished foodie.
—Vicki Salemi, Chron, 23 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for famished
Recent Examples of Synonyms for famished
Adjective
-
Remember the body blow of injustice, and don’t get mad — get hungry.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
9 May 2025
-
The result is a record which captures Motörhead in their formative period, fresh from the early lineup which recorded the tracks that would later make up 1979’s On Parole album, yet hungry with the ambition that would turn them into one of the U.K.’s biggest heavy exports of the ’70s and ’80s.—
Tyler Jenke,
Billboard,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
Infectious disease experts note that the vitamin is most useful in impoverished countries where children are significantly malnourished.—
Katherine Dillinger,
CNN Money,
1 May 2025
-
In the meantime, the new administrators warn that the Kennedy Center is impoverished, that the facility has become shoddy and that some of its programming ill serves the American ideal.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each added 23 points and OG Anunoby bounced back from two poor performances by scoring 20 for the Knicks, who can win the series Wednesday night at Boston.—
Brian Mahoney,
Baltimore Sun,
13 May 2025
-
This results in a very poor Debt-to-Equity Ratio of 232.7% (against 21.5% for the S&P 500).—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
Adjective
-
Here's one: In 1 of every 4 large American cities, a family can earn six figures and still feel broke.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
6 May 2025
-
But Michaels does not think, as some comedians claim, that woke broke comedy.—
Maureen Dowd,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Famished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/famished. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share