1
as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
there was a dearth of usable firewood at the campsite
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lack
the fact or state of being absent
the dearth of salesclerks at the shoe store annoyed us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dearth
In the manufacturing, construction and electrical trades, there's a dearth of talent as skilled laborers age out of the workforce without being replaced by younger workers.
—
Kate Rogers, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
Researchers and advocates say that, in addition to a dearth of court case data, another phenomenon tends to obscure how often this happens.
—Rae Ellen Bichell, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
One was the dearth of births during the Great Depression and its collapse in immigration.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
As patchy as the ultraluxury market has been these last few years (between high interest rates, global unrest, and wild stock-market fluctuations set off by tariffs), there hasn’t been a dearth of buyers so much as a dearth of buyers for particular properties and locations.
—Kim Velsey, Curbed, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dearth
Kate Rogers, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
Researchers and advocates say that, in addition to a dearth of court case data, another phenomenon tends to obscure how often this happens.
—Rae Ellen Bichell, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
One was the dearth of births during the Great Depression and its collapse in immigration.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
As patchy as the ultraluxury market has been these last few years (between high interest rates, global unrest, and wild stock-market fluctuations set off by tariffs), there hasn’t been a dearth of buyers so much as a dearth of buyers for particular properties and locations.
—Kim Velsey, Curbed, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dearth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dearth
Noun
-
But as Kimmel shared with Danson, 77, things weren't easy in the beginning due to a shortage of star power.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
-
However, the number of foreign residents has risen sharply in recent years, reaching a record 3 percent of the population in 2024, as Tokyo cautiously loosened visa requirements for workers in key industries facing labor shortages amid a declining birth rate and aging workforce.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But the mob’s relative lack of visibility does not mean it’s gone away.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Barcelona used a mix of zonal and man-marking but struggled when teams exploited their comparalative lack of height and physicality by using players in motion.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Many Federal Aviation Administration facilities are so critically short on controllers that just a few absences can cause disruptions, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said that more air traffic controllers have been calling in sick since the shutdown began.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
-
That won’t be the case this season; the Lakers are all-in on Luka heliocentricism, with James’ early absence due to sciatica making that commitment even more necessary.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dearth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dearth. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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