Antonym for Nourish
Trying to find an antonym for the verb "nourish", specifically in the context of depleting nutrients. Something like "denourish".
For example:
Working all day in the hot sun had quickly denourished her.
"To starve" is close, but is more at the extreme end. "To fast" is also close, but implies intent.
Edit
I think the question itself is a bit flawed. "Nourish" is not necessarily specific to providing nutrients, so finding a direct antonym for the specific context is unlikely. As far as I know, there isn't a single word verb describing the act of providing nutrients to something.
Solution 1:
Consider drain [MWD]
to exhaust physically or emotionally: feeling drained at the end of a long workday
You could say
Working all day in the hot sun had quickly drained her.
Solution 2:
The word famish when used transitively would seem to me an exact antonym of nourish.
There is nothing in the OED which suggests it is archaic - and it would seem appropriate to use in a sentence such as -
Assad's forces had famished the region of Aleppo into near-starvation
sense 1.
- trans. To reduce to the extremities of famine and hunger; to starve. Also, †to famish away.
Most recent example:
a1822 Shelley Prince Athanase in Posthumous Poems (1824) 106 Those false opinions which the harsh rich use To blind the world they famish for their pride. OED.
There is, of course an intransitive form, which is in everyday used as famished - meaning, extremely hungry.