dearth

Advancedzipf 2.92

Pronunciation

/dɜːθ/(DURTH)

Part of speech

nounformal

Chinese

缺乏；不足

Definition

A scarcity or lack of something.

Word family

  • (no major derivatives)

Collocations

  • dearth of information
  • dearth of talent
  • dearth of evidence
  • dearth of options

Examples

  1. 1.There is a dearth of affordable housing in major cities. (severe lack)
  2. 2.The dearth of qualified candidates forced the company to look overseas. (shortage)

Synonyms

  • scarcity/ˈskɛəsɪti/— insufficient supply
  • shortage/ˈʃɔːtɪdʒ/— not enough, general
  • paucity/ˈpɔːsɪti/— very formal, smallness of number

Etymology

from Middle English "derthe" = dearness, scarcity — when things are dear (expensive), they are scarce