Meaning & use
dearth
A scarcity or lack of something, especially something needed or wanted.
See it in a sentence
The rural clinic struggled with a dearth of qualified doctors and nurses.
There was a dearth of good ideas at the meeting until someone finally spoke up.
A note on using this word
Dearth is always followed by 'of' and is used for a lack of something valuable, rarely for something unwanted.
Words with a similar meaning
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Words with an opposite meaning
Make it your own
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