FAMINES Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

famines

noun

plural of famine

as in shortages

a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number there's a famine of good general practitioners in many rural areas

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of famines Floods, fires, famines and societal collapse remain reliable plot devices. — Solitaire Townsend, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 Founded in 1599, the Grassmayr Bell Foundry, in Innsbruck, western Austria, has survived wars, famines, epidemics and economic challenges. — Philipp Jenne, Fortune, 30 July 2026 The downstream effects of that cascade can bring devastation to some places, such as by raising the risks of famines, fires and floods in Southeast Asia. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 10 July 2026 Models suggest Pacific Ocean surface temperatures could climb to a peak anomaly of 3°C above average by late 2026, a threshold reached only once in recorded history, during the catastrophic 1877–78 event that triggered deadly famines across three continents. — Dr. Douglas M. Hasson, Hartford Courant, 28 May 2026 Tuberculosis, for instance, is estimated to have caused about a billion deaths across history, more than all famines and wars combined. — Literary Hub, 1 May 2026 This was enough to cause widespread crop failures and famines. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Mar. 2026 Imagine what Irish and Indian patriots would have done to the innocent world language had the British staged massacres and caused famines on their lands. — John Connelly, The New York Review of Books, 18 Dec. 2025 This was further supported by documentary evidence of poorer crop yields, weak harvests, and resultant famines. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for famines

Noun

The attacks have brought shortages for ordinary Russians, but the assaults haven’t been as deadly for Russian civilians as the attacks on Ukrainians are.

— Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
However, some experts see higher water rates as a different part of the solution to shortages.

— Alex Hager, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of shortages

Noun

Long used in commercial kitchens for sinks and countertops, steel sinks contain chromium that provides corrosion-resistance and nickel that adds the brightness pure steel lacks.

— Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 19 July 2026
The Anaheim Ducks, at least, had a lot of pace and tempo to help make up for what Carlson’s skating lacks at this point in his career.

— Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 2 July 2026

Definition of lacks

Browse Nearby Words

famine

famines

famished

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Famines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/famines. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of famines

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

conscientious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes