FAMINE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for FAMINE?

Need another word that means the same as “famine”? Find 22 synonyms and 30 related words for “famine” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Famine” are: dearth, shortage, scarcity of food, food shortages, scarcity, lack, want, deficiency, insufficiency, shortfall, undersupply, scantiness, rareness, paucity, poverty, drought, unavailability, lack of food, need for food, hungriness, ravenousness, emptiness

Famine as a Noun

Definitions of "Famine" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “famine” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• A severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death.
• A shortage.
• Extreme scarcity of food.
• An acute insufficiency.
• Hunger.

Synonyms of "Famine" as a noun (22 Words)

dearth	An acute insufficiency. There is a dearth of evidence.
deficiency	The amount by which something, especially revenue, falls short; a deficit. A budget deficiency of 96 billion.
drought	A prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water. He ended a five game goal drought.
emptiness	The quality of having no value or purpose; futility. Feelings of emptiness and loneliness.
food shortages	Any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue.
hungriness	A physiological need for food; the consequence of food deprivation.
insufficiency	(pathology) inability of a bodily part or organ to function normally. Insufficiency of adequate housing.
lack	The state of being without or not having enough of something. There is no lack of entertainment aboard ship.
lack of food	The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable.
need for food	A condition requiring relief.
paucity	The presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities or amounts. A paucity of information.
poverty	The state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount. Thousands of families are living in abject poverty.
rareness	Noteworthy scarcity.
ravenousness	Excessive desire to eat.
scantiness	The quality of being meager. Problems because of the scantiness of reliable information.
scarcity	The state of being scarce or in short supply; shortage. The growing scarcity of resources.
scarcity of food	A small and inadequate amount.
shortage	A state or situation in which something needed cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts. Food shortages.
shortfall	The property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required. They are facing an expected 10 billion shortfall in revenue.
unavailability	The state of being unable to be used or obtained. A change in policy due to the unavailability of land.
undersupply	An insufficient stock or amount of something. Soaring construction levels resulted in a global undersupply of steel.
want	A lack or deficiency of something. Freedom from want.

Usage Examples of "Famine" as a noun

• Drought resulted in famine throughout the region.
• The famine of 1921–2.
• The cotton famine of the 1860s.

Associations of "Famine" (30 Words)

covet	Wish, long, or crave for (something, especially the property of another person. She covets her sister s house.
crave	Ask for. I must crave your indulgence.
craving	A powerful desire for something. A craving for chocolate.
dearth	An acute insufficiency. There is a dearth of evidence.
deficiency	The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable. A budget deficiency of 96 billion.
deficit	(in sport) the amount or score by which a team or individual is losing. The balance of payments is again in deficit.
drought	A prolonged absence of a specified thing. I asked for something to slake my drought.
dry	Cause to become dry. Cream conditioners for dry hair.
dryness	Objectivity and detachment. The dryness of his delivery.
famish	Die of food deprivation. They had famished the city into surrender.
hanker	Feel a strong desire for or to do something. She hankered to go back.
hunger	Feel or suffer hunger. They died from cold and hunger.
inadequacy	Unsatisfactoriness by virtue of being inadequate. Juvenile offenses often reflect an inadequacy in the parents.
indigence	A state of extreme poverty; destitution. Their indigence appalled him.
insufficiency	The condition of being insufficient. Insufficiency of adequate housing.
lack	Be without. She lacks in patience.
need	Have or feel a need for. The basic human need for food.
needy	Needy people collectively. Those from needy backgrounds.
paucity	An insufficient quantity or number. A paucity of information.
prolonged	Relatively long in duration; tediously protracted. The region suffered a prolonged drought.
scarcity	The state of being scarce or in short supply; shortage. A time of scarcity.
shortage	The property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required. Food shortages.
shortfall	The property of being an amount by which something is less than expected or required. They are facing an expected 10 billion shortfall in revenue.
slake	Combine (quicklime) with water to produce calcium hydroxide. Restaurants worked to slake the Italian obsession with food.
starve	Feel very hungry. The political prisoners starved to death.
thirst	Feel the need to drink. An opponent thirsting for revenge.
unquenchable	Impossible to quench. His enthusiasm was unquenchable.
want	Hunt or look for want for a particular reason. Your former neighbor is wanted by the FBI.
yearn	Have an intense feeling of longing for something, typically something that one has lost or been separated from. No fellow spirit yearned towards her.
yearning	Involving or expressing yearning. A yearning hope.