scarcity

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   A situation in which there is not enough of something that people need or want.

   Grammar: Often followed by of: a scarcity of water.

   Patterns

   • a scarcity of something
   • scarcity of something

   The drought caused a scarcity of fresh water.

   There is a scarcity of affordable housing in the city.

   Scarcity of skilled workers slowed the project.

2. 2noununcountablebusinesstechnical

   In economics, the basic fact that resources are limited while human wants have no end.

   Grammar: Used without an article: scarcity forces choices.

   Patterns

   • scarcity forces someone to do something

   Economists say scarcity forces everyone to make choices.

   Scarcity pushes up the price of rare goods.

   Students learned about scarcity with a classroom auction.

Word forms

Common combinations

a scarcity of

There is a scarcity of nurses in rural areas.

food scarcity

Food scarcity worsened after the floods.

water scarcity

Water scarcity affects millions of people.

resource scarcity

Resource scarcity pushes prices higher.

scarcity value

The coin's scarcity value made it expensive.

Synonyms and how they differ

shortage

Shortage is more common and often temporary, whereas scarcity suggests a deeper lack.

dearth

Dearth is formal and literary, and means an extreme lack of something.

lack

Lack is simple and can be used about any absence, while scarcity is about supply of something wanted.

rarity

Rarity describes how uncommon a thing is, but scarcity describes insufficient supply.

Opposites

Word family

scarce adjective

in short supply

scarcely adverb

hardly or only just

scarceness noun

a less common word for scarcity

Commonly confused: scarcity or scarcely?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “scarcity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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