Dictionary

scarcity en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈskɛɹsɪti/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈskɛəsɪti/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English scarsite, from Old Northern French escarsete; by surface analysis, scarce + -ity.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The condition of something being scarce or deficient.
   • Praise […] owes its value only to its scarcity. July 6, 1751, Samuel Johnson, The Rambler No. 136
   • 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. 1994 February, Robert D. Kaplan, “The Coming Anarchy”, in The Atlantic:
2. (countable) An inadequate amount of something; a shortage.
   • a scarcity of grain
   • The crucial and intersecting challenges of scarcities, both emerging and intensifying, will consume China’s custodians over the next decade. 2013 September 24, Damien Ma, William Adams, “China's Next Great Challenge: Scarcity”, in The Atlantic:

Forms

Antonyms

frequency (antonym(s) of) · commonness · abundance (antonym(s) of) · copiousness

Deriveds

postscarcity · artificial scarcity · digital scarcity · root of scarcity

Synonyms

rarity · rareness · dearth (inadequate amount of something) · infrequency · infrequency (condition of something being scarce) · penury · deficiency · lack · want

Translations (85)

sw uchache (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · es escasez (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · es menester (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · es carestía (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · el στενότητα (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · ru недоста́ток (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · gd cion (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · nl tekort (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · tr darlık (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · ota قلت (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · es penuria (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · mk недостиг (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · el έλλειψη (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · pt escassez (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · it scarsità (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · pl niedostatek (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · gl escaseza (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · es carencia (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · enm scarsite (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · hi अल्पता (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · gd gainne (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · el σπάνις (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · tr yokluk (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · sw uhaba (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · gd cion (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · cs nedostatek (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · es exigüidad (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · uk неста́ча (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · pt carestia (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · mk недостаток (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · mk ску́дност (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · gd gainne (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · ca escassesa (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · gd gainnead (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · enm scarsite (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · cy anamlder (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · la paucitās (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · gl escaseza (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · fi vähyys (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · fr pénurie (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · mk о́скудност (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · uk неста́ча (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · fr rareté (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · tr darlık (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · fr manque (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · ru дефици́т (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · ga gannchúis (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · cs nedostatek (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · ru ску́дость (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · bg недостиг (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · cmn 缺少 (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · ca escassedat (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · ga gannchúis (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · ru недоста́ток (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · tr kıtlık (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · fi pula (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · de Knappheit (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · es carestía (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · sw uhaba (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · de Mangel (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · te కొరత (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · grc σπάνις (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · ga ganntanas (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · tl kauyakan (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · la inopia (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · it scarsità (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · te కొరత (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · gd gainnead (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · hi दुर्लभता (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · nl schaarste (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · cy diffyg (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · tr azlık (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · pt escassez (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · bg оскъдица (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · es menester (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · sw uchache (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · bg липса (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · mi ngōuruuru (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · tr kıtlık (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · ru нехва́тка (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · cy prinder (an inadequate amount of something; a shortage) · ast escasez (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · enm scarsnesse (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · eo malabundo (the condition of something being scarce or deficient) · ca escassetat (the condition of something being scarce or deficient)