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

Records from older disasters are often incomplete, and some estimates include people who died from famine, disease and displacement in the months that followed, while others count only deaths directly caused by the flood. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026

The war killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million and pushed parts of the country into famine. — ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026

Regardless of war, famine, genocide, and the horrors of this most brutal of ages. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026

That window allows governments and aid groups to ship supplies, arrange transportation and prevent famines. — Durrie Bouscaren, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026