as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
the scarcity of good restaurants around here is surprising
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Recent Examples of scarcity
More than this, though, the pressure of precision that the relatively short and expensive rolls of film impose on low-budget shoots means that the film embodies an awareness of scarcity and a corresponding discipline regarding resources.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 13 May 2025
The Department of Energy was born out of a fear in the 1970s that America was entering an era of energy scarcity and that government action was necessary to mitigate that risk.
—Jack Spencer, Boston Herald, 13 May 2025
Pakistan’s water scarcity crisis can be traced back to before the country was founded.
—Simmone Shah, Time, 9 May 2025
As internal and external growth headwinds mount, Beijing faces the hard budget constraint of capital scarcity: more money for technology means less money for households.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scarcity
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 13 May 2025
The Department of Energy was born out of a fear in the 1970s that America was entering an era of energy scarcity and that government action was necessary to mitigate that risk.
—Jack Spencer, Boston Herald, 13 May 2025
Pakistan’s water scarcity crisis can be traced back to before the country was founded.
—Simmone Shah, Time, 9 May 2025
As internal and external growth headwinds mount, Beijing faces the hard budget constraint of capital scarcity: more money for technology means less money for households.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scarcity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scarcity
Noun
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For years, Democrats have tried to carve out loopholes in existing laws and promote new developments to address the housing shortage.—
Sandra McDonald,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
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While that was a 2% rise since 2019, the U.S. faces a shortage of 439,000 construction workers.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2025
Noun
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The defendants insisted there was no conspiracy and that NASL’s lack of recognition as a D1 or D2 league reflected its failure to meet objective metrics, including minimum stadium seating capacity, number of teams and time zone coverage.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
13 May 2025
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The lack of movement in the Mainland market shows that domestic issues, as opposed to foreign matters, are weighing on local sentiment.—
Brendan Ahern,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scarcity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scarcity. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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