Basic Details
Word: Famine
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A severe shortage of food resulting in widespread hunger.
Synonyms: Starvation, hunger, deprivation
Antonyms: Abundance, plenty, surplus
Idioms and Phrases
- Famine of ideas: A lack of creativity or good thoughts. Example: "After hours of brainstorming, the team faced a famine of ideas."
- Feast or famine: A situation where there are either too many or too few resources. Example: "In the catering business, it's often feast or famine; some days we are fully booked, while others are so quiet."
Usage Examples
Example 1: Many people suffer during a famine because they do not have enough food to eat.
Example 2: The famine in the region led to efforts from charities to provide aid to those in need.
Example 3: Awareness about famine can help prevent future food shortages through better planning and resources.
Fun Fact
The word "famine" originates from the Latin word "fames," which means hunger or starvation, and has been used for centuries to describe devastating shortages of food.
Famous Quote
"The greatest danger of all is the ignorance of the people. It is ignorance, not hunger, which creates famine." Leonid Brezhnev
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
1. What does "famine" mean?
a) A natural disaster
b) A lack of food
c) A type of grain
d) A cooking style
Answer: b) A lack of food
2. Which of these is a synonym of "famine"?
a) Plenty
b) Starvation
c) Celebration
d) Garden
Answer: b) Starvation
3. Which word is an antonym of "famine"?
a) Scarcity
b) Abundance
c) Shortage
d) Drought
Answer: b) Abundance
4. Which example uses "famine" correctly?
a) During the famine, people had to find alternative sources of food.
b) The famine finished with a grand feast.
c) A famine of ideas led to a new cooking competition.
d) He was in a famine when he bought too many snacks.
Answer: a) During the famine, people had to find alternative sources of food.
5. What does the idiom "feast or famine" mean?
a) Always having too much food
b) Never having enough resources
c) Having either a great deal or a very small amount of something
d) Living in luxury
Answer: c) Having either a great deal or a very small amount of something
