dearth
Americannoun
-
an inadequate supply; scarcity; lack.
There is a dearth of good engineers.
- Synonyms:
- insufficiency, paucity, want, shortage
- Antonyms:
- surplus, sufficiency, plenty, abundance
-
scarcity and dearness of food; famine.
noun
Usage
What does dearth mean? A dearth of something is a lack or scarcity of it. The word is especially used in serious situations in which there is a shortage of something important. It is usually followed by of and the thing that is lacking, as in a dearth of resources or a dearth of clean water. Much less commonly, dearth is used in a more specific way to refer to a scarcity of food—a famine. Example: The dearth of teachers has resulted in large class sizes.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dearth
First recorded in 1200–50, dearth is from the Middle English word derthe. See dear 1, -th 1
Explanation
If there is a dearth of something, there is not enough of it. A dearth of cupcakes is unfortunate, but a dearth of nutritious food is a serious problem. Dearth is an Old English noun formed from the adjective deore, "precious, costly," and the noun-forming suffix -th. Though the relationship of dearth meaning "lack, insufficient amount" to the adjective dear is not so obvious, it is still easy to imagine that something precious is probably also in short supply. Dearth is used almost exclusively in the phrase "a dearth of."
Vocabulary lists containing dearth
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Zilch, Zip, Nada: Words For Nothing
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I’m on the other side of it, to some extent,” Dearth said.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 15, 2016
We have seven explanations for the Dearth of July.
From Time • Jul. 8, 2014
Dearth of a Salesman is believed to feature Judith Wyler, daughter of the Academy Award-winning film director William Wyler, and both films were co-written by Canadian screenwriter and author Mordecai Richler.
From BBC • Dec. 11, 2013
Weren't all psychiatrists in and of themselves mental pathologies, an umbrella metaphor for war, with Miss Dearth just another of his casualties It's Death.
From The Guardian • Aug. 19, 2012
Fellow-Sinners, of your Charity Seek not the Reason of the Dearth, but fill.
From The Works of Rudyard Kipling One Volume Edition by Kipling, Rudyard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
