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Famine vs Scarcity - What's the difference?

famine | scarcity |

As a proper noun famine

is the personification of famine, often depicted riding a black horse.

As a noun scarcity is

(uncountable) the condition of something being scarce or deficient.

famine

English

Noun

(wikipedia famine)
  • (uncountable) extreme shortage of food in a region
  • * 1971 , Central Institute of Research & Training in Public Cooperation
    • Dr. Bhatia pointed out that famine had occurred in all ages and in all societies where means of communication and transport were not developed.
  • (countable) a period of extreme shortage of food in a region
  • * 1986 , United States Congress, House Select Committee on Hunger, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Famine and Recovery in Africa
    • The root causes of the current famine are known: poverty, low health standards....

    scarcity

    English

    (wikipedia scarcity)

    Noun

  • (uncountable) the condition of something being scarce or deficient
  • * Rambler
    • Praise owes its value to its scarcity .
  • (countable) an inadequate amount of something; a shortage
    • a scarcity of grain

    Synonyms

    * dearth * deficiency * lack * infrequency * penury * rareness * rarity * want

    Antonyms

    * abundance * copiousness