famine

/ˈfæmɪn/

//ˈfæmɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"famine" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“famine” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,773. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,773
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Extreme shortage of food in a region.

Corpus desk

Index EN-famine · famine · English

famine · rank #12,773 · 8 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,773
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH falsely

Nearest frequency peer: falsely (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “famine”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “famine” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

famine vs fine
67% similar
famine vs feline
67% similar
famine vs fuming
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for famine
PropertyValue
Headwordfamine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfæmɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,773
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “famine”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).faminelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “falsely” (#12,772), “fares” (#12,774), “fading” (#12,771). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “famine” is #12,773. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around famine (IPA /ˈfæmɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,773 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for famine, with forms such as "afmine", "faimne", and "famien". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "fine", "feline", "fuming", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French famine, itself from the root of Latin fames. Cognate with Spanish hambruna (“famine”). The correct English form is famine, spelled F-A-M-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Extreme shortage of food in a region.
  2. 2
    A period of extreme shortage of food in a region.
  3. 3
    Starvation or malnutrition.
  4. 4
    Severe shortage or lack of something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how famine appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It was reserved for Christians to torture bread, the staff of life, bread for which children in whole districts wail, bread, the gift of pasture to the poor, bread, for want of which thousands of our fellow beings annually perish by famine; it was reserved for Christians to torture the material of bread by fire, to create a chemical and maddening poison,…
  2. Dr. Bhatia pointed out that famine had occurred in all ages and in all societies where means of communication and transport were not developed.

Etymology

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

This word in other languages

hambruna(Español)famine(Français)Hungersnot(Deutsch)fome(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afmine
  • faimne
  • famien
  • faminne
  • fammine
  • famnie
  • ffamine
  • fmaine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of famine - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

afmine2faimne2famien2faminne1fammine1famnie2ffamine1fmaine2
Edit distance from "famine"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "famine"?
"famine" is spelled F-A-M-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfæmɪn/.
What does "famine" mean?
As a noun, "famine" means: Extreme shortage of food in a region.
What words are commonly confused with "famine"?
"famine" is commonly confused with "fine", "feline", "fuming". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "famine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "famine" is /ˈfæmɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "famine"?
Borrowed from Middle French famine, itself from the root of Latin fames. Cognate with Spanish hambruna (“famine”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "famine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fading#12,771granny#12,784Hansen#12,786homage#12,788

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

gazette8 variantsdecks8 variantscrank8 variantsbeaver8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list