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

The conflict, which ended the following year, claimed over 100,000 lives and contributed to famine in the region. — Adrian Elimian, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026

The civil war killed at least 150,000 people, according to United Nations estimates, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. — Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 20 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

The wars, weddings, births, massacres, famines, our triumphs, our defeats, our past. — Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026