famished

American  

[fam-isht] / ˈfæm ɪʃt /

adjective

1. extremely hungry: famished multitudes in the immediate postwar period.

   to be famished after a hike;

   famished multitudes in the immediate postwar period.

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Related Words

See hungry.

Other Word Forms

• half-famished
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of famished

First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English; famish + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

Did you just order a double cheeseburger with large fries and a liter-sized milkshake? Either you have a death wish or you're extremely hungry — famished that is. Tracing the roots of famished leads us to the Middle English word for "starve." So it's no wonder famished means absolutely starving or totally ravenous. Just think of all those poor famished people in the Middle Ages, with only porridge and vegetables to eat and not a fast food chain in sight. It's enough to make you cry...or reach for another french fry — depending on how famished you are.

Example Sentences

This is exactly why Ben Okri’s “The Famished Road” is stunning.

From New York Times • Feb. 7, 2024

“Gurnah’s win is a cause for celebration throughout Africa,” said Ben Okri, the Booker Prize-winning Nigerian author of “The Famished Road.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2021

Okri, who won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1991 for “The Famished Road,” beat finalists including this year’s Booker winner, Richard Flanagan; Japanese literary star Haruki Murakami; and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Cunningham.

From Washington Times • Dec. 3, 2014

But Ben Okri, who won the 1991 Booker prize for The Famished Road, contested the terms of the argument, quoting Wole Soyinka's statement that a tiger doesn't debate its "tigritude"; it just pounces.

From The Guardian • Aug. 19, 2012

Famished but with no prospect of food, in a cramped room filled with strangers, mercifully, I quickly sank into the oblivion of sleep.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson