famine vs dearth

famine and dearth both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
famine	Yes	No	No	No
dearth	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, famine and dearth are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of famine include shortage.

famine (noun)	dearth (noun)
a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death	an insufficient quantity or number
an acute insufficiency	an acute insufficiency