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

Soon, millions faced famine as foreign aid was cut off, sanctions locked in, and Afghan assets were frozen. — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2026

This fictional tale based on real events looks at the impact of civil war on the country, just as Yemen is on the edge of a possible return to the conflict that killed 150,000 and brought many others close to famine. — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 23 Sep. 2026

That deliberate forgetting, combined with famine, stripped the baiji of protection. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026

The mines are among thousands of small-scale and informal mines scattered across Sudan, which has been engulfed in a war that has at times pushed parts of the country into famine. — ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026