Holodomor

American  

[hoh-luh-duh-mawr, hoh-luh-duh-mawr, hoh-loh-doh-mawr] / ˈhoʊ lə dəˌmɔr, ˌhoʊ lə dəˈmɔr, hoʊ loʊ doʊˈmɔr /

noun

1. the Holodomor, a severe famine in Ukraine (1932–33), exacerbated by a series of punitive measures taken against the country by the Soviets and leading to the death of almost four million Ukrainians from hunger.

---

Etymology

Origin of Holodomor

First recorded in 1930–35; from Ukrainian holodmór “death by hunger, starvation,” from hólod “hunger” + mor “extermination”

Example Sentences

Ukrainians have termed their own word for the barrage -- "Kholodomor", a reference to the Holodomor, the 1930s famine orchestrated by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that Kyiv considers a genocide.

From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026

Zelenskiy pointed out that the attack had come in the early hours of the day when Ukrainians commemorate their worst national tragedy -- the 1932-33 Holodomor famine in which several million people starved to death.

From Reuters • Nov. 25, 2023

Russian authorities in October dismantled Mariupol’s memorial to victims of the Holodomor, the Soviet-engineered famine in the 1930s that killed millions of Ukrainians, according to video posted on Russian television.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2022

He also labelled the Holodomor famine caused by the Kremlin in Ukraine in the 1930s a genocide.

From BBC • Nov. 28, 2022

Ukraine commemorated the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, a 1932 famine engineered by Stalin.

From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2022