famine

Pronunciation: /ˈfæmɪn/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

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

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French famine, itself from the root of Latin fames. Cognate with Spanish hambruna (“famine”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

dearth, shortage

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
lack

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading

Nice save! Solidify it with review →