noun
-
smallness of quantity; insufficiency; dearth
-
smallness of number; fewness
Etymology
Origin of paucity
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English paucite, from Latin paucitās “fewness,” derivative of paucus “few”; see -ity
Explanation
The word paucity means not enough of something. If you've got a paucity of good cheer, for example, you'd better cheer up! One good way to remember the meaning of paucity is that it's a bit like pauper, as in The Prince and the Pauper. The prince had too much money, and the pauper had a paucity. There are a lot of words that mean "little" or "small," but paucity is used when you mean specifically "not enough" or "too little." People in Los Angeles don't understand how New Yorkers can live with such a paucity of space. For what New Yorkers pay for a tiny apartment, Angelenos get a house and a yard.
Vocabulary lists containing paucity
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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100 SAT words Beginning with "P"
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Elie Wiesel's "Hope, Despair and Memory" (1986)
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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.
The paucity of water has pressured communities along the river to make painful decisions about where to cut back their water usage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
The drummer said she was distressed by the paucity of water stations available, and feared the triple-digit heat was a risk for fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
He said there is a "paucity of support for people subject to TPIMs" and there is a potential risk to other people subjected to them.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
The paucity of hard scientific evidence for cold-water swimming’s health benefits forces the author to rely on the anecdotal sort, which he finds to be overwhelmingly positive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The other major obstacle to the development of food production in Australia was the paucity of domesticable wild plants.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
