famine

noun

fam·​ine ˈfa-mən 

1

: an extreme scarcity of food

The famine affected most of the country.

2

archaic : starvation

3

archaic : a ravenous appetite

4

: a great shortage

Transportation problems resulted in a coal famine.

Synonyms

• crunch
• dearth
• deficiency
• deficit
• drought
• drouth
• failure
• inadequacy
• inadequateness
• insufficiency
• lack
• lacuna
• paucity
• pinch
• poverty
• scantiness
• scarceness
• scarcity
• shortage
• undersupply
• want

Examples of famine in a Sentence

The famine affected half the continent.

millions killed by war, drought, and famine

Recent Examples on the Web

Jane’s fiercely unforgiving tone was adopted by militant Irish nationalists for whom the famine stood as the ultimate proof of English perfidy. —Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025

Militant Irish nationalism would follow Jane Wilde in seeing the famine as mass murder and thus as what would later be categorized as a genocide. —Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025

The idea of Irish indolence fused with a quasi-religious faith in the laws of the market to shape the British response to the famine. —Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025

Reports of famine are not due to a lack of aid but Hamas’ deliberate strategy of restricting access to maintain power and profit. —Efrat Lachter, Fox News, 10 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from feim, faim hunger, from Latin fames

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for famine

• gammon
• mammon
• backgammon
• examen
• examine
• glutamine
• reexamine

Kids Definition

famine

noun

fam·​ine ˈfam-ən 

1

: an extreme general shortage of food

2

: a great shortage