v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Famished p. pr. & vb. n. Famishing. ] [ OE. famen; cf. OF. afamer, L. fames. See Famine, and cf. Affamish. ] 1. To starve, kill, or destroy with hunger. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. To exhaust the strength or endurance of, by hunger; to distress with hanger. [ 1913 Webster ] And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Cen. xli. 55. [ 1913 Webster ] The pains of famished Tantalus he'll feel. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. To kill, or to cause to suffer extremity, by deprivation or denial of anything necessary. [ 1913 Webster ] And famish him of breath, if not of bread. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. To force or constrain by famine. [ 1913 Webster ] He had famished Paris into a surrender. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ] | 
