famine
noun
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Definition of famine
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Synonyms & Antonyms for famine
Synonyms
crunch, dearth, deficiency, deficit, drought (also drouth), failure, inadequacy, inadequateness, insufficiency, lack, lacuna, paucity, pinch, poverty, scantiness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want
Antonyms
abundance, adequacy, amplitude, opulence, plenitude, plenty, sufficiency, wealth
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Examples of famine in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That would trigger a worse conflict and widespread famine. — Fox News, "UAE fast withdrawing from controversial Yemen war," 13 July 2019 Big airlifts began in the 1980s, when Ethiopia suffered tyranny and famine. — The Economist, "The killing of a black Jew sparks protests in Israel," 11 July 2019 Interim Archives/Getty Images During the Revolutionary War, the Oneida allies of the revolutionary army walked hundreds of miles from their homeland in what is now upstate New York to relieve the famine at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. — Time Staff, Time, "15 Unsung Moments From American History That Historians Say You Should Know About," 28 June 2019 There are currently tens of millions of people in at least half a dozen subsistence-farming countries facing famine. — Sean Illing, Vox, "The climate crisis and the end of the golden era of food choice," 24 June 2019 Human rights advocates warn of a recurrence of the mid-1990s famine that killed as many as 3 million people if conditions fail to improve. — Martin Kuz, The Christian Science Monitor, "In N. Korea nuclear talks, what about human rights?," 20 June 2019 The vast majority of Hong Kong residents fled persecution, political chaos or poverty and famine on the Chinese mainland. — Washington Post, "Hong Kong protesters slam leader’s apology, demand she quit," 19 June 2019 Rizpah watched over the bodies, protecting them from scavenging birds and animals until the rain came, signalling the end of the famine. — National Geographic, "King David’s rise to power cost one woman everything," 2 Apr. 2019 Civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict, which has killed thousands of people, created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and brought Yemen to the brink of famine. — Washington Post, "UN report: 7,500 kids killed or wounded in Yemen since 2013," 29 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'famine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for famine
famine
noun
English Language Learners Definition of famine
See the full definition for famine in the English Language Learners Dictionary
famine
noun
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Kids Definition of famine
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