famine Hear it!

famine Definition

fam·ine (fam′in)

noun

  1. an acute and general shortage of food, or a period of this
  2. any acute shortage
  3. Archaic starvation

Etymology: ME < OFr < VL *famina < L fames, hunger < IE base *dhē-, to wither away > daze

famine Synonyms

famine

n.

shortage of food, starvation, want, scarcity; see hunger, lack 1.

famine Usage Examples

Converse of subject

  • threaten: Kenyan has appealed for $ 150m to save the lives of people threatened by famine.
  • affect: Around seven million people were affected by the famine in 1984.

Converse of object

  • avert: Small triumph in a world of scarce hope Agencies ' work and refugees ' resourcefulness avert famine, but aid still vital.
  • flee: Libyans began flooding into the country, not as conquerors but apparently as refugees fleeing famine in north Africa.
  • alleviate: You will be helping to alleviate human famine by taking less out of the World's finite resources.
  • relieve: He opposed Peel's free trade policies, especially after the later repealed the Corn Laws in order to relieve the famine in Ireland.
  • threaten: April 2002 State of disaster declared as worsening food shortages threaten famine.
  • survive: Of those who survived the famine, many were forced to emigrate to greener pastures.

Adjective modifier

  • Ethiopian: In 1984, Michael Buerk's report on the Ethiopian famine shocked the world into action.
  • Ukrainian: That there has been a lack of serious analysis of the Ukrainian famine on the left is an understatement.
  • impending: After all, the impending famine in Africa opens up a new market to sustain the multi-billion dollar US biotechnology industry.
  • Irish: The Irish famine of 1845 gave him the excuse for which he was looking.
  • terrible: Russians dead or dying in the terrible famine of 1921.
  • disastrous: A long-standing sequence of disastrous famines in India led to one of the first investigations of just how the monsoon was generated.

Modifies a noun

  • graveyard: Day 6 - Donegal to Galway We head south through county Sligo which inspired the writing of WB Yeats and visit a famine graveyard.
  • relief: The events raised about £ 40m for famine relief.
  • crisis: The charity record would be designed to, once again, raise money to tackle the latest African famine crisis.
  • prevention: Policy action For agencies involved in famine prevention and relief, the spread of armed conflict poses real dilemmas.

Noun used with modifier

potato: This was vital for survival with the potato famine which affected the UK in the 1860s.