famine
noun
extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area.
famines
-
pluralof famine.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It asserted that widespread famines and mass starvation would doom huge swaths of mankind because the world’s population was growing too rapidly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
In extreme conditions such as droughts, famines or freezing temperatures, animals activate resilience programs like hibernation instead of investing energy in reproduction.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2026
India, for centuries, was wracked by famines and chronic food shortages, leaving generations to survive on meagre nutrition.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2025
With powerful statistical models, the researchers analyzed 30,000 years of archaeological records, tracing the impact of wars, famines and climate change.
From New York Times ● May 1, 2024
If you wore special glasses you could see them spinning through the sky among the bats and homing birds—blondes, wars, famines, football, food shows, coups d’ etat, hairstyles stiff with hair spray.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
