starvation

American  

[stahr-vey-shuhn] / stɑrˈveɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or state of starving; condition of being starved.

---

adjective

1. liable or seeming to cause starving.

   a starvation diet.

Etymology

Origin of starvation

First recorded in 1770–80; starve + -ation

Example Sentences

She says that studies in mice have shown that starvation enhances the animal’s tolerance to chemotherapy doses but can’t cure the disease outright.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

Unless ocean temperatures return to more tolerable levels, bleached corals are unable to recover and eventually die of starvation.

From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026

Crops needed to stave off starvation have been decimated.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

“Once the Forest Service got involved, they had more than just a starvation issue,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

And the meager fare at Mother Palmer’s boardinghouse up on the bluff was proving downright starvation inducing this year.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• deprivation
• famine
• malnutrition