famine
extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area.
any extreme and general scarcity.
extreme hunger; starvation.
Origin of famine
1Other words for famine
Words Nearby famine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use famine in a sentence
From 1949 to 1952, spanning the founding of the People’s Republic, the country suffered the worst famine in history.
Yet, there were districts that performed significantly better than others in terms of managing the pandemic and offering famine relief.
The British Raj’s Spanish flu response has a lesson for India’s Covid-19 battle | Manavi Kapur | September 2, 2020 | QuartzIn their 1968 book The Population Bomb, biologists Paul Ehrlich and his wife Anne foretold a Malthusian future of famine and disease if humanity failed to control its growth.
How Rising Education for Women Is Shaping the Global Population - Facts So Romantic | Kiki Sanford | August 19, 2020 | NautilusSaving has been part of the DNA of two of the world’s oldest and largest societies — China and India — for centuries, in good measure because of the frequent crises such as famines, wars and social upheaval that they have endured.
Could the Recession Revive the Savings Gene in China and India? | Pallabi Munsi | August 16, 2020 | OzyAs recounted in the books of Genesis and Exodus, Abraham’s grandson Jacob travels to Egypt for food in a time of famine.
A Justification For Unrest? Look No Further Than The Bible And The Founding Fathers | LGBTQ-Editor | June 11, 2020 | No Straight News
She recalls that during the famine her father illegally sold gold and silver.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State | Lizzie Crocker | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“These people were coming here from tragic situations of war and famine in search of a better life,” he told The Daily Beast.
famine and frigid temperatures ensued, and roughly 10 percent of the population died.
When the Weather Went All Medieval: Climate Change, Famine, and Mass Death | Wendy Smith | June 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt other times, North Korea might want aid economic and food concessions, especially during periods of hardship and famine.
Besides, the price tag for that motivation—famine, disease, Harold Campings everywhere—is surely too steep.
In 1205 wheat was worth 12 pence per bushel, which was cheap, as there had been some years of famine previous thereto.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellOnly in the sensational moments of famine, flood or pestilence was a general social effort called forth.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockFordun says there was famine in Scotland this year, many being reduced 'to feed on the flesh of horses and other unclean cattle.'
King Robert the Bruce | A. F. MurisonBut numbers overpowered them, and being weakened by famine, their city was forced, and the inmates seized as slaves.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria GrahamBruce presently came up with large reinforcements, but the castle held out tenaciously, and surrendered only to famine.
King Robert the Bruce | A. F. Murison
British Dictionary definitions for famine
/ (ˈfæmɪn) /
a severe shortage of food, as through crop failure or overpopulation
acute shortage of anything
violent hunger
Origin of famine
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with famine
see feast or famine.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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