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# starvation

noun (starvation — uncountable)

«starvation» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Serious suffering or death caused by having little or no food for a long time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/#m1)
2. (informal, exaggerated) Being very hungry: «I'm dying of starvation!» said jokingly before tea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/#m2)

### In the lessons

In history and geography lessons, starvation happens in famines, sieges and wars, like the Irish Great Famine (1845–1852) or the Holodomor in Ukraine (1932–1933); in news, aid groups bring food to people facing starvation. In science, the body without food uses its fat and then muscle. In everyday jokes children exaggerate hunger. Phrases: «starvation wages» (very low pay), «die of starvation».

### Examples

- During the famine, many people died of starvation. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/#x1)
- Aid agencies are working to prevent starvation in the war zone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/#x2)
- The Holodomor caused the starvation of millions of Ukrainians. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/#x3)
- Animals in the snow can face starvation in a hard winter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/#x4)
- "Is tea ready? I'm dying of starvation!" [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/#x5)
- Using hunger and starvation as a weapon of war is against international law. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/#x6)
- To get down was utterly impossible, it seemed as if he must die of starvation. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/#x7)

### Note

Uncountable; from «starve» (drop e, add -ation). Hunger is the feeling; starvation is the dangerous state. Jokey use is exaggeration, not literal.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «starvation» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/starvation/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«starvation» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/starvation.html) on Mova free.