Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STARVE, v.t.

1. To kill with hunger. Maliciously to starve a man is, in law, murder.
2. To distress or subdue by famine; as, to starve a garrison into a surrender.
3. To destroy by want; as, to starve plants by the want of nutriment.
4. To kill with cold. [Not in use in the United States.] From beds of raging fire to starve in ice / Their soft ethereal warmth. – Milton.
5. To deprive of force or vigor. The powers of their minds are starved by disuse. [Unusual.] – Locke.