scarcity

[skair-si-tee]

noun

plural

scarcities 

1. insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth.

   Synonyms: paucity, lack, want, shortage

2. rarity; infrequency.

scarcity

/ ˈskɛəsɪtɪ /

noun

1. inadequate supply; dearth; paucity

2. rarity or infrequent occurrence

Other Word Forms

• nonscarcity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarcity¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English scarsete(e), from Old North French escarsete; equivalent to scarce + -ity

Example Sentences

Nonetheless, the “overarching theme” for the industry is that there is a scarcity of compute power.

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The tardigrade’s secret, we learn, lies in its ability “to live without that most precious resource of life”: In times of trial or scarcity, they self-dessicate, losing 98% of their bodies’ water.

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Let me explain, and at the risk of coming across like a guy building an ark in the desert, offer options for adding dividends at a time of relative scarcity.

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They say they are increasingly positive on Lynas’s expansion in heavy rare earths, particularly given the scarcity of supply of those materials globally.

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Since the start the Islamic Revolution, 31,000 of Iran’s 69,000 villages have been abandoned, with water scarcity a major contributing factor.

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Related Words

• dearth 
• drought 
• famine 
• inadequacy 
• insufficiency 
• lack 
• paucity 
• shortage