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
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
That’s feast-or-famine, [but] even moderately successful microdramas can make a lot of money.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
The urgent appeal comes after the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) formally confirmed famine in Gaza.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
With a genocide in Congo and war, famine and ethnic cleasing in Sudan, to cite just two of the conflicts currently happening in Africa, that dream seems impossible.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for famine
Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025
That’s feast-or-famine, [but] even moderately successful microdramas can make a lot of money.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
The urgent appeal comes after the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) formally confirmed famine in Gaza.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
With a genocide in Congo and war, famine and ethnic cleasing in Sudan, to cite just two of the conflicts currently happening in Africa, that dream seems impossible.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for famine
Recent Examples of Synonyms for famine
Noun
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But in the Midwest and the Northeast, where the housing shortage remains most acute, prices have kept high.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
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Developers face rising costs, labor shortages, and supply constraints.—
Maurice Obeid,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The lack of clarity is compounded by the fact that many of Turning Point’s largest vendors are limited liability companies registered in states that do not mandate public ownership disclosure.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
20 Sep. 2025
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The company claims that the problem of the lack of waste heat in electric drive systems is elegantly solved by integrating a high-efficiency heat pump.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Additionally, 100% of the giant Colorado River basin is now in a drought.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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But beef prices soared — up 24% over five years — as drought has thinned herds and production costs have soared.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Famine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/famine. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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