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
China wouldn’t have cleared that bar then, during Mao’s rule that claimed many millions of lives through famine and revolutionary upheaval.
—
John Leicester, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
China wouldn’t have cleared that bar then, during Mao’s rule that claimed many millions of lives through famine and revolutionary upheaval.
—ABC News, 13 June 2026
Maria is a witness to the old world with World War II, famine, and the new world.
—Photovogue, Vogue, 11 June 2026
The party has tried to sell Americans on the value of global engagement—famine relief, training foreign militaries, support for the United Nations—before.
—Missy Ryan, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for famine
John Leicester, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
China wouldn’t have cleared that bar then, during Mao’s rule that claimed many millions of lives through famine and revolutionary upheaval.
—ABC News, 13 June 2026
Maria is a witness to the old world with World War II, famine, and the new world.
—Photovogue, Vogue, 11 June 2026
The party has tried to sell Americans on the value of global engagement—famine relief, training foreign militaries, support for the United Nations—before.
—Missy Ryan, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for famine
Recent Examples of Synonyms for famine
Noun
-
The Crimean peninsula has had periodic fuel shortages from Ukrainian strikes before, but the current crisis is the worst since its 2014 annexation.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 June 2026
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Novelli said one of the reasons many kids in New Haven are still behind in reading is a shortage of pre-kindergarten education.—
Theo Peck-Suzuki,
Hartford Courant,
21 June 2026
Noun
-
Detainees at the facility have reported a lack of access to lawyers and poor physical conditions, including worms in the food, toilets that do not flush, floors flooding with fecal waste and insects everywhere.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2026
-
In today’s food environment, addiction to UPFs should not be written off as a lack of personal willpower, said Forman, who researches ultraprocessed food addiction.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Many areas of Colorado are experiencing moderate to severe drought.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
21 June 2026
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Finally, in the bottom of the ninth, Betts ended the Dodgers’ scoring drought.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Famine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/famine. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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