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Hunger vs Starving - What's the difference?

hunger | starving |

As nouns the difference between hunger and starving

is that hunger is hunger while starving is starvation.

As a verb starving is

.

hunger

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) hunger, from (etyl) . Compare Dutch honger, German and Low German Hunger, Swedish hunger.

Noun

(en noun)
  • A need or compelling desire for food.
  • (by extension) Any strong desire.
  • I have a hunger to win.
  • * Spenser
  • O sacred hunger of ambitious minds!
    Usage notes
    The phrase be hungry'' is more common than ''have hunger to express a need for food.
    Antonyms
    * satiety * satiation
    Derived terms
    * hunger is the best spice
    See also
    * thirst

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) hyngran.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To be in need of food.
  • (figuratively) To have a desire (for); to long; to yearn.
  • I hungered for your love.
  • * Bible, Matthew v. 6
  • Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.
  • (archaic) To make hungry; to famish.
  • References

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    starving

    English

    Verb

    (head)
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=(Joseph Stiglitz)
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=19, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Globalisation is about taxes too , passage=It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. […] It is the starving of the public sector which has been pivotal in America no longer being the land of opportunity – with a child's life prospects more dependent on the income and education of its parents than in other advanced countries.}}

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • starvation
  • * 1868 , Margaret Carrington, Ab-Sa-Ra-Ka, Land of Massacre