paucity

Advancedzipf 2.61

Pronunciation

/ˈpɔːsɪti/(PAW-sih-tee)

Part of speech

nounformal

Chinese

缺乏；少量

Definition

The presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities; scarcity.

Word family

  • (no common derivatives)

Collocations

  • paucity of evidence
  • paucity of resources
  • paucity of information
  • paucity of options

Examples

  1. 1.The paucity of affordable housing has become a crisis in major cities worldwide. (severe shortage)
  2. 2.Despite the paucity of evidence, the prosecution pressed ahead with the case. (lack)

Synonyms

  • scarcity/ˈskeəsɪti/— insufficient supply
  • dearth/dɜːθ/— lack of something
  • shortage/ˈʃɔːtɪdʒ/— insufficient amount

Etymology

from Latin "paucitas" — "paucus" = few — the state of having few