scarcity
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
From Old Northern French escarcete; by surface analysis, scarce + -ity.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈskɛɹsɪti/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈskɛəsɪti/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Noun
scarcity (countable and uncountable, plural scarcities)
- (uncountable) The condition of something being scarce or deficient.
- July 6, 1751, Samuel Johnson, The Rambler No. 136
- Praise […] owes its value only to its scarcity.
- 1994 February, Robert D. Kaplan, “The Coming Anarchy”, in The Atlantic:
- To understand the events of the next fifty years, then, one must understand environmental scarcity, cultural and racial clash, geographic destiny, and the transformation of war.
- July 6, 1751, Samuel Johnson, The Rambler No. 136
- (countable) An inadequate amount of something; a shortage.
- a scarcity of grain
Synonyms
- (condition of something being scarce): infrequency, rareness, rarity; see also Thesaurus:rareness
- (inadequate amount of something): dearth, deficiency, lack, infrequency, penury, rareness, rarity, want; see also Thesaurus:lack
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “condition of something being scarce”): frequency, commonness; see also Thesaurus:commonness
- (antonym(s) of “inadequate amount of something”): abundance, copiousness; see also Thesaurus:excess
Derived terms
Translations
the condition of something being scarce or deficient
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an inadequate amount of something; a shortage
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Anagrams
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