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
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Recent Examples of famine
The social, cultural, and economic effects of climate change will be recorded not on hunger stones, but in pandemics, wars, famines, and genocides exacerbated by the effects of higher temperatures.
—
Ed Simon
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Implementation of Lysenko’s policies predictably led to a massive famine that killed literally millions of Ukrainians.
—D. Scott Schmid, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Today, famine is one of the leading causes of mortality in children under 5 worldwide.
—David Miliband, Time, 22 Sep. 2025
Israeli strikes killed at least 34 people in Gaza City overnight, health officials said Sunday, as Israel pressed ahead with its offensive in the enclave's most populous city, where hundreds of thousands of people have been living under famine.
—Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for famine
Ed Simon
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Implementation of Lysenko’s policies predictably led to a massive famine that killed literally millions of Ukrainians.
—D. Scott Schmid, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Today, famine is one of the leading causes of mortality in children under 5 worldwide.
—David Miliband, Time, 22 Sep. 2025
Israeli strikes killed at least 34 people in Gaza City overnight, health officials said Sunday, as Israel pressed ahead with its offensive in the enclave's most populous city, where hundreds of thousands of people have been living under famine.
—Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for famine
Recent Examples of Synonyms for famine
Noun
-
The federal government officially began a partial shutdown with no last-minute drama or shortage of finger-pointing from Democrats and Republicans, each of whom was content to blame the other for the impasse.—
Lorenzino Estrada,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The outbreak was forcing a shortage of eggs as well, leading some grocers to restrict how many dozens of eggs consumers could buy per visit.—
Olivia Evans,
Louisville Courier Journal,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Youths frustrated at a social media ban, corruption and lack of economic opportunities coordinated mass protests via Discord that helped bring down the government.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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If the shutdown drags on, the lack of government data could strain investors’ understanding of the health of the labor market and path of inflation at a time when stocks are historically expensive and vulnerable to a surprise.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Mostly sunny and very warm; persistent dry weather will worsen drought conditions through the weekend.—
Alexander Coolidge,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
3 Oct. 2025
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As a result, vineyards are being planted in higher grounds and grape varieties are being replaced by others better adapted to higher temperatures and drought.—
Miguel A. Torres,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Famine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/famine. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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