Definition

Adjective: * Desiring but deprived of sexual gratification: Experiencing a strong, unmet desire or need for sexual activity, often due to a prolonged lack of it.

Usage

This adjective describes a state of intense sexual frustration or longing resulting from deprivation. It is often used informally and can carry a humorous, hyperbolic, or critical tone. It typically modifies a person or, less commonly, a group.

Examples

• He complained to his friends that he felt sex-starved after his partner went on a long business trip.
• The novel's protagonist is portrayed as a sex-starved widow seeking passion.
• Some tabloids describe the characters as a group of sex-starved teenagers.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used metaphorically or hyperbolically to describe an intense craving for non-sexual things, though this is an extended, figurative use.
  • The art critic described the film as sex-starved for genuine emotion, filled only with empty spectacle.

Variants and Related Words

• Frustrated (adj): Feeling upset or annoyed due to inability to change or achieve something, including sexual desires.
• Deprived (adj): Denied the possession or use of something, which can contextually imply a lack of sexual activity.

Synonyms

• Frustrated
• Deprived (in context)
• Lustful (emphasizes desire more than deprivation)
• Horny (very informal, emphasizes desire)

Antonyms

• Satisfied
• Sated
• Fulfilled

Related Idioms & Phrases

• (To be) in a dry spell: (Informal idiom) Experiencing a period without sexual activity.
  • He joked about being in a six-month dry spell.
• (To have) a high libido: (Neutral phrase) To have a strong inherent sex drive, without the implication of deprivation.
  • She has a high libido, but is in a satisfying relationship.

Adjective

1. desiring but deprived of sexual gratification