as in shortages
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 famines
This was further supported by documentary evidence of poorer crop yields, weak harvests, and resultant famines.
—
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2025
The great famines of the twentieth century were often driven by droughts.
—Arif Husain, Foreign Affairs, 11 Nov. 2025
And that’s how America can turn one of the worst famines in history into a $13 billion party.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 28 Oct. 2025
Since the Civil War, relief efforts had taken her to wars, floods, fires, famines, cyclones, and earthquakes.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
Enter Bob Dylan, who gave a shoutout to those who grow the food that ends famines and sparked decades of giving through Live Aid.
—Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
Despite concerns about feeding a growing global population in the face of a changing climate, along with famines being declared in Sudan and Gaza, the number of calories consumed per person increased by 35% worldwide between 1960 and 2022 and shows no signs of slowing.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Modern-day famines are different than the famines that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, when drought was the main driver in Ethiopia and other nations.
—Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Somalia, in 2011, and South Sudan, in 2017, also saw famines in which tens of thousands of people were affected.
—Laura Ungar, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2025
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2025
The great famines of the twentieth century were often driven by droughts.
—Arif Husain, Foreign Affairs, 11 Nov. 2025
And that’s how America can turn one of the worst famines in history into a $13 billion party.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 28 Oct. 2025
Since the Civil War, relief efforts had taken her to wars, floods, fires, famines, cyclones, and earthquakes.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
Enter Bob Dylan, who gave a shoutout to those who grow the food that ends famines and sparked decades of giving through Live Aid.
—Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
Despite concerns about feeding a growing global population in the face of a changing climate, along with famines being declared in Sudan and Gaza, the number of calories consumed per person increased by 35% worldwide between 1960 and 2022 and shows no signs of slowing.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Modern-day famines are different than the famines that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, when drought was the main driver in Ethiopia and other nations.
—Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Somalia, in 2011, and South Sudan, in 2017, also saw famines in which tens of thousands of people were affected.
—Laura Ungar, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for famines
Noun
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Teacher morale is increasingly important as states continue to struggle with teacher shortages, especially in hard-to-fill jobs like special education, science, technology, math, engineering and bilingual education.—
Diana Lambert,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
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According to Burton, the situation becomes even more complex when educators encounter resource shortages that affect students directly.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
As of Wednesday, firearms dealers are required under state law to use scanners that pull the prospective purchaser’s name, date of birth and other details from the card’s magnetic strip, which the new design lacks — except if they are authorized otherwise.—
Madison Smalstig,
Sacbee.com,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Each provides amino acids that the other lacks, so eating them together gives you all the essential amino acids.—
Merve Ceylan,
Health,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Famines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/famines. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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