famine

noun fam·ine \ ˈfa-mən \

Definition of famine

1 :an extreme scarcity of food

The famine affected most of the country.

2 archaic :starvation

3 archaic :a ravenous appetite

4 :a great shortage

Transportation problems resulted in a coal famine.

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Examples of famine in a Sentence

The famine affected half the continent.
millions killed by war, drought, and famine

Recent Examples of famine from the Web

These fighters also came to be symbols of unity and pride for an island that had suffered civil unrest, invasions, famines, and financial crises.

— nancy kidder, The Atlantic, "Four Ways of Looking at Mayweather vs. McGregor," 25 Aug. 2017
This team might fall in the feast or famine scenario. 3.

— david humphrey, star-telegram, "A team-by-team preview of the 2017 NFL season," 25 Aug. 2017
Famines brought on by collectivization spread through Soviet Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia.

— marci shore, New York Times, "The Russian Revolution Recast as an Epic Family Tragedy," 18 Aug. 2017
Citizens are largely repressed, poverty and famine are extensive, and leaders have been accused of committing crimes against humanity.

— emma sarran webster, Teen Vogue, "North Korea: What to Know About Its Government and Nuclear Weapons History," 9 Aug. 2017
More than 20 million people are at risk of famine in nine African nations and Yemen.

— Washington Post, "US criticizes Africa for ‘failure’ on famine threat," 19 July 2017
Overall in South Sudan, Mahla said, 1.7 million people are on the brink of famine in a nation that has ample water supplies — in more peaceful times — to grow foods such as mangos and pineapples.

— hal bernton, The Seattle Times, "NW aid groups World Vision, Mercy Corps join new effort to ease Africa famine," 16 July 2017
Female artists from a cooperative in South Sudan known for its beaded jewelry and clothing also chose to stay home amid unrest and famine there.

— morgan lee, Detroit Free Press, "Folk art market endures amid shifting U.S. immigration policy," 12 July 2017
But my family was in a similar position as those folks fleeing famine and destitution.

— matt viser, Town & Country, "Meet the Next President Kennedy," 6 July 2017

These 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.

Origin and Etymology of famine

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from feim, faim hunger, from Latin fames

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First Known Use: 14th century

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famine Synonyms

Synonyms

crunch, dearth, deficit, drought (also drouth), failure, deficiency, inadequacy, inadequateness, insufficiency, lack, lacuna, paucity, pinch, poverty, scantiness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want

Antonyms

abundance, adequacy, amplitude, opulence, plenitude, plenty, sufficiency, wealth

Related Words

absence, omission; meagerness, poorness, skimpiness; necessity, need, privation

Near Antonyms

bountifulness, copiousness; excess, overabundance, oversupply, surfeit, surplus

FAMINE Defined for English Language Learners

famine

noun

Definition of famine for English Language Learners

: a situation in which many people do not have enough food to eat

FAMINE Defined for Kids

famine

noun fam·ine \ ˈfa-mən \

Definition of famine for Students

:a very great shortage of food that affects many people over a wide area

Learn More about famine

See words that rhyme with famine Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for famine Spanish Central: Translation of famine Nglish: Translation of famine for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of famine for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about famine

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