Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
starving

starving

1 1.4
Very hungry and needing food now
  • adjective
  • /ˈstɑrvɪŋ/
translation icon : hambriento
  • He felt starving and couldn't concentrate on his work, thinking only of food.

Without Indians, you'd be starving, stranded, sexless, sterile and stupid.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I'm absolutely starving and an hour has gone by and still no food.

  • I have just been cleaning and now I am starving so I'm going to make myself some Lamian.

  • Or there are people starving in Africa.

    I've Had It

  • I am starving, about to go take off.

  • And I am a hungry, starving employee who is suffering right now.

    The Useless Hotline Podcast

  • And many of them are starving physically and mentally.

  • More food is thrown out because of blemishes than is needed to feed the starving across the planet.

  • THE KIDS ARE STARVING.

    Cold Creek Manor (2003)

  • After skipping breakfast and lunch, I found myself starving by dinner time.

  • The children looked starving after days without proper meals.

Synonyms

hungry
vsstarving
∞ 1.0

Feeling a need to eat

describes a severe, possibly life ending lack of food rather than ordinary need
ravenous
vsstarving
18 6.0

Feeling very hungry and eager to eat

is about life threatening lack of food rather than mere appetite
underfed
vsstarving
3 3.4

Not having enough food to be healthy

describes a sudden, dangerous condition that may cause death
famished
vsstarving
  • Informal
1 5.1

Very hungry and needing to eat right away

is a more severe state that can lead to death
undernourished
vsstarving
1 4.4

Not having enough food to stay healthy and grow

refers to sudden, life threatening lack of food rather than long term deficiency
foodless
vsstarving
1 8.1

A person or place that has no food to eat

implies a dangerous, possibly fatal lack of food rather than mere absence
starved
vsstarving
2.1

A person or animal who is very hungry because they have no food

means a more extreme state that can cause death
unnourished
vsstarving
7.5

Not having enough food or nutrients to grow and stay healthy

describes a more acute, life threatening lack rather than chronic shortage
empty-bellied
vsstarving
4.1

Feeling hungry and weak

is a more severe, dangerous state that may result in death

Antonyms

full
853 1.0

Not wanting more food or drink after eating enough

satisfied
38 1.0

Not hungry or thirsty after eating enough

Compounds

starving artist
7 6.3

An artist who has little money because they focus on making art

How Hungry

starving
1 1.4
famished
  • Informal
1 5.1
hungry
∞ 1.0
peckish
  • UK
5 7.3

Surface Forms

starving positive
starver comparative
starvest superlative

Morphology

starving = starve (transparent) = starve + ing

Formed by the productive suffix '-ing' from the verb 'starve'; learners who know 'starve' can readily infer 'starving'.

Etymology

Starving comes from an old English word steorfan meaning 'to die'. So starving now means 'extremely hungry', as if you were so hungry you could die.