Single word

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I think that there is a single word for "to starve until death" If anyone can help me for this Thanks

Philip · Accepted Answer

Die of hunger

Starve to death

I can't come up with a "single" word.

Andriy Lapin · Answer

Hello Jhumjhum,

you are right - there is such a word that absolutely corresponds to the meaning you intend to express. This word is famish and, according to Collins English Dictionary (8th ed.) it means 'to die or cause to die from starvation'. However, please mind that in this meaning it is somewhat archaic, so use it where appropriate. There is also a word perish, which means 'to die or be destroyed through violence, privation, etc.', so you can use it to convey the idea of dying from lack of food. Besides, unlike famish, it has no strict stylistic restrictions. Finally, starve itself can mean 'to die or cause to die from lack of food', so you can choose from all of these words.

Respectfully, Gleb Chebrikoff.

Khoff · Answer

A few comments on "famish," "perish" and "starve":

I had never heard of "famish" as a verb meaning "to die of starvation." I looked it up, and it is definitely archaic. On the other hand, "famished" as an adjective meaning "very hungry" is commonly used. If I heard the sentence "he famished," (meaning he died of hunger) I would assume the word was being used incorrectly.

"Perish" is not archaic, but it definitely sounds old-fashioned and somewhat melodramatic, and does not specifically refer to starvation. It's not frequently used in conversation, but you might read in the newspaper that "thousands perished in the earthquake" or something like that.

"Starving" is so commonly used just to mean "very hungry" that if you want to indicate that someone is really likely to die from lack of food, it would be better to say he is "literally starving," "starving to death," or "dying of hunger."

Jhumjhum · Answer

Thanks everyone
I think I had a misconception about this word.In Jainism there is a trend of dying by starving until death after a certain age or when a person has made himself free form all bondage of life and wishes to die.In my language there is a single word for this so I thought that there might be such a word in English also

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