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famine

famine, starvation

noun fah-MEEN Rare

Origin: Latin fames (hunger)

Usage Note

Famine describes widespread acute food shortage affecting a population, stronger than disette (food scarcity) and distinct from faim (personal hunger). The phrase mourir de faim (to be starving) is used colloquially for mild hunger, while famine is reserved for large-scale humanitarian crises.

Examples

"La famine a touché des millions de personnes."

Natural Translation

The famine affected millions of people.

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