Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not receiving sufficient or adequate food: Describes a person or animal that has been given too little food to maintain proper health and normal growth, often resulting in a thin, weak, or malnourished appearance.

Usage

The adjective "underfed" is used to describe the state of being inadequately nourished due to a lack of sufficient food. It emphasizes the condition resulting from the action of being fed too little. It is typically used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like 'be' or 'look').

Examples

• Attributive use (before a noun):
  • The charity focuses on helping underfed children in the region.
  • We rescued an underfed stray dog from the streets.
• Predicative use (after a linking verb):
  • The prisoners looked visibly underfed.
  • Despite their efforts, the livestock remained underfed due to the drought.

Advanced Usage

• "chronically underfed": Permanently or long-term inadequately nourished.
  • Generations of families in the area were chronically underfed.
• "deliberately underfed": Intentionally given insufficient food.
  • The animals were deliberately underfed by their neglectful owner.

Variants and Related Words

• Underfeed (verb): To feed insufficiently.
  • It is a crime to underfeed animals in your care.
• Undernourished (adjective): A very close synonym, often used interchangeably with "underfed," though it can imply a broader lack of necessary nutrients, not just quantity of food.
• Malnourished (adjective): A broader term meaning poorly nourished due to an improper or insufficient diet, which can include both underfeeding and lack of specific nutrients.

Synonyms

• Undernourished: Lacking proper nutrition.
• Starving: Suffering or dying from hunger (stronger than underfed).
• Half-starved: Severely underfed.
• Emaciated: Abnormally thin or weak, especially because of illness or lack of food (describes the extreme result).

Antonyms

• Well-fed: Having plenty of food.
• Nourished: Provided with food necessary for health and growth.
• Overfed: Given more food than is necessary or healthy.

Notes on Meaning

"Underfed" specifically points to the cause (insufficient feeding) and its visible consequence (thinness, weakness). It is often used in contexts discussing poverty, neglect, or resource scarcity. While similar to "undernourished," "underfed" more directly implies a simple lack of adequate food quantity.

Adjective

1. not getting adequate food
   • gaunt underfed children
   • badly undernourished