SCARCITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does scarcity mean? 

• SCARCITY (noun)
  The noun SCARCITY has 1 sense:

1. a small and inadequate amount

  Familiarity information: SCARCITY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SCARCITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small and inadequate amount

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

scarceness; scarcity

Hypernyms ("scarcity" is a kind of...):

deficiency; inadequacy; insufficiency (lack of an adequate quantity or number)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "scarcity"):

dearth; paucity (an insufficient quantity or number)

infrequency; rareness; rarity (noteworthy scarcity)

Antonym:

abundance (the property of a more than adequate quantity or supply)

Derivation:

scarce (deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand)

 Context examples 

Age-related comparisons of the brains of humans and chimpanzees, the closest living relatives to humans, are challenging because of the scarcity of samples from older chimpanzees.

(New research detects Alzheimer's disease markers in nonhuman primates, National Science Foundation)

Elizabeth Bennet had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen, to sit down for two dances; and during part of that time, Mr. Darcy had been standing near enough for her to hear a conversation between him and Mr. Bingley, who came from the dance for a few minutes, to press his friend to join it.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)