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
Tuberculosis, for instance, is estimated to have caused about a billion deaths across history, more than all famines and wars combined.
—
Literary Hub, 1 May 2026
This was enough to cause widespread crop failures and famines.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Mar. 2026
Imagine what Irish and Indian patriots would have done to the innocent world language had the British staged massacres and caused famines on their lands.
—John Connelly, The New York Review of Books, 18 Dec. 2025
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
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
Literary Hub, 1 May 2026
This was enough to cause widespread crop failures and famines.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Mar. 2026
Imagine what Irish and Indian patriots would have done to the innocent world language had the British staged massacres and caused famines on their lands.
—John Connelly, The New York Review of Books, 18 Dec. 2025
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for famines
Noun
-
Travelers should brace for higher airfares this summer due to looming jet fuel shortages amid the war with Iran.—
Jessica Puckett,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 May 2026
-
Our economy is suffering too, with critical workforce shortages of teachers and nurses.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
Ford’s freedom or constraints, his prejudices or lacks, gauge his moment and ours.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Dipping into 2027 draft capital to make a fifth-round selection in a draft that Schneider has repeatedly said lacks depth is a surprising move.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Famines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/famines. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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