famish
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
to suffer or cause to suffer extreme hunger; starve.
-
to starve to death.
verb
-
(now usually passive) to be or make very hungry or weak
-
archaic to die or cause to die from starvation
-
to make very cold
I was famished with the cold
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of famish
1350–1400; Middle English famisshe, equivalent to famen to starve (< Anglo-French, Middle French afamer < Vulgar Latin *affamāre, equivalent to Latin af- af- + famāre, derivative of famēs hunger) + -isshe -ish 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The President pondered, smiled, said: "Well, they can't famish on that."
From Time Magazine Archive
C is the CORN-LAWS, that famish’d the poor; D is the DEBT, that will famish them more.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, October 23, 1841 by Various
Are there not some who, in the choicest cup, Imbibe despair, and famish as they sup, Sear'd by a solace that was like a vow?
From Love Letters of a Violinist and Other Poems by Eric Mackay
Directly there came by a child, With toiling step, and vision wild, "Father," said she, with hunger dread, "We famish for the want of bread."
From Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive by Alf Burnett
Take, then, your regular supplies of spiritual food, that your soul may not famish.
From A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females Being a Series of Letters from a Brother to a Younger Sister by Harvey Newcomb
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
