Starve — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

be hungry; go without food

die of food deprivation

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/stˈɑːɹv/

🇬🇧British English

/stˈɑːv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/stˈɑːv/

1 syllable Say it as /stˈɑːɹv/.

Examples

Let's eat--I'm starving!
The political prisoners starved to death
Many famished in the countryside during the drought

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

crave hunger thirst famish lust

Antonyms

feed be full

Parts of Speech

verb	be hungry; go without food “Let's eat--I'm starving!”
verb	die of food deprivation “The political prisoners starved to death”
verb	deprive of food “They starved the prisoners”
verb	have a craving, appetite, or great desire for
verb	deprive of a necessity and cause suffering “he is starving her of love”

Word Forms

starvation	noun	a state of extreme hunger resulting from lack of essential nutrients over a prolonged period
hunger	noun	a physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation
starving	noun	the act of depriving of food or subjecting to famine
craving	noun	an intense desire for some particular thing
thirst	noun	strong desire for something (not food or drink)
lust	noun	a strong sexual desire

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

verhungern

hungrig sein; ohne Essen auskommen

🇫🇷French

affamer

avoir faim; se passer de nourriture

🇪🇸Spanish

morir de hambre

tener hambre; quedarse sin comida

🇮🇹Italian

morire di fame

avere fame; andare senza cibo

🇳🇱Dutch

verhongeren

honger hebben; zonder eten gaan

🇵🇹Portuguese

morrer de fome

estar com fome; ficar sem comida

🇷🇺Russian

голодать

быть голодным; обходиться без еды

India

🇮🇳Hindi

भूखा

भूख लगी है; बिना भोजन के जाओ

🇧🇩Bengali

ক্ষুধার্ত

ক্ষুধার্ত হওয়া; খাবার ছাড়া যান

🇮🇳Tamil

பட்டினி

பசியோடு இரு; உணவு இல்லாமல் போ

🇮🇳Telugu

ఆకలి వేస్తుంది

ఆకలితో ఉండండి; ఆహారం లేకుండా వెళ్ళండి

🇮🇳Marathi

उपासमार

भूक लागणे; अन्नाशिवाय जा

🇮🇳Gujarati

ભૂખે મરવું

ભૂખ્યા રહો; ખોરાક વિના જાઓ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಹಸಿವಿನಿಂದ

ಹಸಿದಿರು; ಆಹಾರವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಹೋಗು

🇮🇳Malayalam

പട്ടിണി കിടക്കുക

പട്ടിണി കിടക്കുക; ഭക്ഷണമില്ലാതെ പോകുവിൻ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਭੁੱਖਾ

ਭੁੱਖਾ ਹੋਣਾ; ਭੋਜਨ ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨਾਂ ਜਾਣਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

بھوکا

بھوکا ہونا؛ کھانے کے بغیر جاؤ

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

饿死

饿;不吃东西去

🇯🇵Japanese

餓死する

お腹が空く。何も食べずに行く

🇰🇷Korean

굶어 죽다

배고프다; 음식 없이 가다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

chết đói

đói; nhịn ăn

🇹🇭Thai

อดอาหาร

หิว; ไปโดยไม่มีอาหาร

🇮🇩Indonesian

kelaparan

lapar; pergi tanpa makanan

🇵🇭Filipino

gutom

magutom; pumunta nang walang pagkain

🇲🇾Malay

kelaparan

menjadi lapar; pergi tanpa makan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تجويع

كن جائعا. اذهب بدون طعام

🇮🇷Persian

گرسنگی

گرسنه بودن؛ بدون غذا رفتن

🇹🇷Turkish

açlıktan ölmek

aç olmak; yemeksiz gitmek

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְהַרְעִיב

להיות רעב; ללכת בלי אוכל

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'starve'?

The primary meaning of 'starve' is 'be hungry; go without food'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'starve' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'starve' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'starve' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'starve' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'starve' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'starve' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'starve' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'starve' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'starve' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'starve' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted