starveling

American  

[stahrv-ling] / ˈstɑrv lɪŋ /

noun

1. a person, animal, or plant that is starving.

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adjective

1. starving; suffering from lack of nourishment.

2. pining with want.

3. poverty-stricken.

4. poor in condition or quality.

5. such as to entail or suggest starvation.

starveling British  

/ ˈstɑːvlɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. a starving or poorly fed person, animal, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a starveling child

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adjective

1. insufficient; meagre; scant

Etymology

Origin of starveling

First recorded in 1540–50; starve + -ling ¹

Example Sentences

Broad-shouldered men with strapping muscles from digging and hauling rocks wilted into bony, hollow-cheeked starvelings.

From Reuters

Part of the success Mr. Slimane enjoyed during his previous design stints owed to how easy it was for women to wear the stuff he intended for the scrawny starvelings he favors.

From New York Times

The man looked at them—a thin girl of ten with starveling hollows in her cheeks but with the chin still baby-round.

From Literature

“I’m sure Jamison would rush out here with a box of chocolates and a featherbed if he knew there was a starveling half-cracked student living under his University. They’d crock her and you know it.”

From Literature

Mr. Blunden’s starvelings had simply been unlucky, their orders to retreat either misheard or misunderstood over a partially jammed radio frequency.

From New York Times