famine

/'fæmin/
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Thân thiện
famine

A family receives a small ration of grain during a famine.

Definition

Noun 1. A severe and widespread shortage of food: This refers to an extreme scarcity of food across a region or population, typically caused by factors like crop failure, war, or economic collapse, leading to widespread hunger, starvation, and death. 2. A drastic shortage or scarcity of something: This is a metaphorical use, meaning a severe lack or insufficiency of a particular non-food resource or commodity.

Examples of Usage
  • Literal meaning (food shortage):
    • The prolonged drought led to a devastating famine in the region.
    • International aid agencies rushed supplies to the country to alleviate the famine.
  • Metaphorical meaning (severe lack):
    • There is a famine of new ideas in the current political discourse.
    • During the economic crisis, the city experienced a jobs famine.
Advanced Usage
  • "to die of famine": to die from the effects of a severe food shortage.
    • Historical records show that millions died of famine during the 19th century.
  • "famine prices": exorbitantly high prices caused by an extreme scarcity of goods.
    • The blockade caused famine prices for basic necessities like flour and medicine.
Variants and Related Words
  • Famished (adjective): Extremely hungry.
    • After the long hike, we were absolutely famished.
Synonyms
  • Starvation: Suffering or death caused by lack of food.
  • Dearth: A scarcity or lack of something (often used in the metaphorical sense).
  • Shortage: A state in which something needed cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts.
Related Phrases
  • Feast or famine: A situation characterized by alternating periods of great abundance and extreme scarcity.
    • Freelance work is often a feast or famine existence.
Related Idioms
  • Famine in the midst of plenty: A situation where there is a severe shortage or need even though there are abundant resources available elsewhere.
    • The inability to distribute food effectively created a famine in the midst of plenty.
famine

A family receives a small ration of grain during a famine.

Noun
  1. a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death
  2. an acute insufficiency

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