famine

noun

(uncountable) Extreme shortage of food in a region.

(countable) A period of extreme shortage of food in a region.

Severe shortage or lack of something.

(mythology) The personification of famine, often depicted riding a black horse.

(dated) Starvation or malnutrition.

Roots

famesfam- · Latin · hunger

Synonyms for famine

dearthn starvationn shortagen droughtn scarcityn destitutionn aridityn paucityn impoverishmentn deprivationn

Synonyms & related words for famine

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of famine — including dearth, starvation, shortage, drought, scarcity, destitution. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to famine

Explore words related to famine — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include hunger, famish, hungriness, starving, starved, malnutrition, undernourishment, malnourishment. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for famine

Common synonyms for famine include dearth, starvation, shortage, drought, scarcity, destitution, aridity, paucity — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does famine come from?

The word famine breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root fam-, from Latin fames (“hunger”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.