famine
/ˈfæmɪn/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfæmɪn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfa-mən/ (ame, mw)
famine — 名詞
- faminesingular
- faminesplural
1. a long time when very many people in a region have far too little food to eat, o
饑荒
區域性糧食嚴重不足造成大量人口挨餓死亡
a long time when very many people in a region have far too little food to eat, often because crops have failed or war has stopped food supplies, leading to widespread hunger and deaths.
A severe famine struck Ethiopia in 1984, killing hundreds of thousands of villagers.
1984 年衣索比亞發生嚴重饑荒，造成數十萬村民死亡。
famine struck + [place] for naming where a famine occurred
Failed rains and crop disease caused a terrible famine across northern Kenya.
雨水不足加上農作物病害，使肯亞北部爆發可怕的饑荒。
cause + famine showing what triggered the shortage
Aid workers say the war in Tariq's province is pushing the country toward famine.
救援人員表示，Tariq 所在省份的戰爭正把整個國家推向饑荒邊緣。
Élise's grandmother walked sixty kilometres to find food during the famine of 1972.
Élise 的奶奶在 1972 年的饑荒期間走了六十公里去找食物。
The United Nations warned that millions of children could die if famine spreads to the coast.
聯合國警告，如果饑荒蔓延到沿海地區，可能有數百萬名兒童喪命。
- starvation
the physical state of suffering from no food; famine is the wider event that causes starvation
- food shortage
neutral and less severe; a shortage can be brief, while a famine implies deaths
- hunger crisis
modern news term; often used before a situation officially meets the famine definition
文法句型
a famine in [place]
during the famine
famine spread across [region]
用法筆記
Usually refers to a region-wide food crisis, not personal hunger. Often paired with country names or a specific year (the Irish famine, the 1984 famine).