Synonyms of famine

famine

noun

ˈfa-mən 

as in shortage

a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number

there's a famine of good general practitioners in many rural areas

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shortage
• lack
• drought
• deficiency
• poverty
• scarcity
• deficit
• insufficiency
• absence
• paucity
• dearth
• inadequacy
• crunch
• undersupply
• failure
• scantiness
• lacuna
• pinch
• scarceness
• inadequateness
• omission
• want
• privation
• necessity
• meagerness
• poorness
• skimpiness
• need

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• abundance
• wealth
• sufficiency
• plenty
• amplitude
• opulence
• adequacy
• plenitude
• surplus
• excess
• oversupply
• overabundance
• surfeit
• bountifulness
• copiousness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of famine

The civil war, in which famine and fighting killed hundreds of thousands, has been paused by a ceasefire since ⁠2022. — Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 26 July 2026

The family’s myrtle digestif recipe dates to 1939, when myrtle berries helped sustain the local population during famine. — Layne Randolph, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

Today, many former Biden Administration officials argue that their pressure on the Israelis prevented a famine from happening sooner. — David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 20 July 2026

Violent conflict is a common denominator of contemporary famine, and famine or the risk of famine has already been noted in several countries in the region. — Peter Hailey, The Conversation, 16 July 2026