variants
also drouths
as in shortages
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
there's been a drought of good movies this year
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Recent Examples of droughts
On Tuesday, 85 scientists released a 459-page rebuttal to the DOE report, highlighting a large body of scientific literature pointing to how climate change can exacerbate droughts, floods, crop failures, and other disasters.
—
Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 7 Sep. 2025
Once a livestock farmer, Ackerman pivoted the family land to pumpkins back in the ‘80s, after commodity prices crashed and a couple of droughts wreaked havoc on the industry.
—Katherine Laidlaw, HubSpot, 5 Sep. 2025
Herdade de Rio Frio’s cork oaks, which are native to Portugal and can resist frequent droughts and scorching summer temperatures, were planted more than a century ago.
—Dee-Ann Durbin, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
Floods and droughts are increasingly common in a warming climate.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Each year, Congress allocates billions to keep crops in the ground, cushioning the blow from droughts, floods, fires and market swings — a safety net that dates to the 1930s, when the Depression and Dust Bowl put the nation’s food supply at risk.
—Molly Parker, ProPublica, 4 Sep. 2025
But the dozens of climate scientists point out that this is misleading, because higher temperatures and more evaporation — not just low rainfall — can lead to and exacerbate droughts.
—Julia Simon, NPR, 2 Sep. 2025
The collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, also known as AMOC, would cause major shifts in climate, such as moving the tropical rainfall belt, bringing extremely cold winters and summer droughts to Western Europe, while also increasing sea levels by 50 centimeters.
—Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Many rely on the same small pool of repeat givers, leaving them exposed to donor churn and fundraising droughts.
—Jemma Green, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 7 Sep. 2025
Once a livestock farmer, Ackerman pivoted the family land to pumpkins back in the ‘80s, after commodity prices crashed and a couple of droughts wreaked havoc on the industry.
—Katherine Laidlaw, HubSpot, 5 Sep. 2025
Herdade de Rio Frio’s cork oaks, which are native to Portugal and can resist frequent droughts and scorching summer temperatures, were planted more than a century ago.
—Dee-Ann Durbin, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
Floods and droughts are increasingly common in a warming climate.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Each year, Congress allocates billions to keep crops in the ground, cushioning the blow from droughts, floods, fires and market swings — a safety net that dates to the 1930s, when the Depression and Dust Bowl put the nation’s food supply at risk.
—Molly Parker, ProPublica, 4 Sep. 2025
But the dozens of climate scientists point out that this is misleading, because higher temperatures and more evaporation — not just low rainfall — can lead to and exacerbate droughts.
—Julia Simon, NPR, 2 Sep. 2025
The collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, also known as AMOC, would cause major shifts in climate, such as moving the tropical rainfall belt, bringing extremely cold winters and summer droughts to Western Europe, while also increasing sea levels by 50 centimeters.
—Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Many rely on the same small pool of repeat givers, leaving them exposed to donor churn and fundraising droughts.
—Jemma Green, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for droughts
Noun
-
According to an August report from the Office of Inspector General, the watchdog arm of the Department of Veterans Affairs, all 139 Veterans Health Administration facilities in the country have reported severe occupational shortages, a 50% increase from last year.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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The shortages have plagued the workforce for many years now, educators have told ABC News, with many of them citing strict time demands, persistent behavioral issues and lack of administrative support, among other obstacles.—
Arthur Jones II,
ABC News,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This absence — of God, of love, of plain community spirit — is a metaphor for the whole parish, where everyone is defined by their own lacks and deficiencies, the weaknesses that cause Wicks to despise them and vow to bring down them all.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
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But Davies’s film has a patience and lightness of touch that Scorsese’s lacks, as well as a note-perfect lead in Gillian Anderson.—
Elle Carroll,
Vulture,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Droughts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/droughts. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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