paucity

noun

pau·​ci·​ty ˈpȯ-sə-tē How to pronounce paucity (audio)
1
: smallness of number : fewness
2
: smallness of quantity : dearth

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Learn a Little About Paucity

Paucity refers to "littleness" in numbers (as in "a paucity of facts") or quantity ("a paucity of common sense"). The word comes from paucus, Latin for "little."

Examples of paucity in a Sentence

If you had one of those Yugoslav names with a paucity of vowels, you might sprinkle in a few … Calvin Trillin, Time, 22 May 2000
For my part, I find increasingly that I miss the simplicity, the almost willful paucity, of the English way of doing things. Bill Bryson, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999
This relative paucity of freeloaders and deadbeats means that rookie Americans, as a group, more than pay their way. Jaclyn Fierman, Fortune, 9 Aug. 1993
a paucity of useful answers to the problem of traffic congestion at rush hour
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
What connects those three results is the notion that at the season's halfway mark, there appears to be a paucity of pigskin dominance across a league where teams toggle between looking superb and sliding, varying on the week. Andrew Greif, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025 But the indictments are startling for their paucity compared with the charges described in Patel’s boasts. Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 26 Oct. 2025 Rather, her photos, documents and collages point to the extreme paucity of surviving evidence and the utter impossibility of a cohesive, factual narrative. Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025 The sheer paucity of Russian resources, after three and a half years of war, may lead to a similarly ineffective response to any use of Tomahawks. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for paucity

Word History

Etymology

Middle English paucite, from Latin paucitat-, paucitas, from paucus little — more at few

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of paucity was in the 15th century

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Cite this Entry

“Paucity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paucity. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

paucity

noun
pau·​ci·​ty ˈpȯ-sət-ē How to pronounce paucity (audio)
: smallness of number or quantity : scarcity
a paucity of experience

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