starveling

[ stahrv-ling ]

/ ˈstɑrv lɪŋ /

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noun

a person, animal, or plant that is starving.

adjective

starving; suffering from lack of nourishment.

pining with want.

poverty-stricken.

poor in condition or quality.

such as to entail or suggest starvation.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of starveling

First recorded in1540–50; starve + -ling¹

Words nearby starveling

startup, star turn, starvation, starvation wages, starve, starveling, Star Wars, starwort, Stary Oskol, stash, stashie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use starveling in a sentence

They lay flat and deflated, but laid out in one assembly beside a starveling twisted bush.
The Invaders|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Only the arts which in a pecuniary sense pay, will thrive, and the rest will live a starveling life.
Paris: With Pen and Pencil|David W. Bartlett
There is no virtue in a starveling piety which turns all beauty into ugliness and shrivels up every natural affection.
Flowers of Freethought|George W. Foote
He will have poor turnips and starveling wheat, and kill his fields with undue apportionments of guano and bonedust.
Around The Tea-Table|T. De Witt Talmage

Jim was wandering back to the road, deflected now and then by some starveling plant.
Country Neighbors|Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for starveling

starveling

/ (ˈstɑːvlɪŋ) archaic /

noun

a starving or poorly fed person, animal, etc
(as modifier)a starveling child

adjective

insufficient; meagre; scant

Word Origin for starveling

C16: from starve + -ling 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012