starve
part of speech
verb (starve, starves, starved, starving)
meaning for a pupil
1) To starve is to suffer or die because you have no food for a long time. tree →
2) To starve someone is to not give them food. tree →
3) «I'm starving» is an everyday way to say «I'm very hungry». tree →
4) To be starved of something is to not get enough of something you need: «starved of light», «starved of attention». tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, living things need food; a plant or animal without food starves. In history and geography lessons, «starving» and «starvation» describe famines when crops fail. In everyday talk children say «I'm starving!» before lunch, which is an exaggeration. In stories a starving character makes the reader feel pity. Phrases: «starve to death», «I'm starving», «starved of».
examples
- Many people starved when the crops failed. tree →
- The stray dog was nearly starving when we found it. tree →
- I'm starving — what's for dinner? tree →
- The plant was starved of light in the dark cupboard. tree →
- Never starve a pet; feed it every day. tree →
- Without enough food, animals in winter can starve. tree →
- The charity sends food to starving families. tree →
- He was starved of attention, so he behaved badly. tree →
- He was half starved and begged for help. tree →
note
Past: starved. Noun: starvation. «I'm starving» usually means just «very hungry» — an exaggeration, not real starvation. Do not confuse with «starter» or «stare».
In the corpora
- The Rat is starving, but he nods and says «wonderful» — he knows what his friend needs.
- Whether you have a cold or a fever, the body needs fluids and energy; starving a fever is not a good idea.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «starve» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.