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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scarcity
Many animals have adapted to water scarcity, with seasonal migrations, nocturnal habits and burrowing during the worst of the heat to offset water loss.
—
John Leos, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Projects that address water scarcity can help reduce disease, support education, create jobs, empower women and combat climate change, all in one effort.
—Sivan Yaari, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
In addition to political persecution, returning Venezuelans would reenter a country teetering on collapse—maligned by hyperinflation, soaring unemployment, rampant crime, frequent power outages, water shortages and chronic scarcities of food and medicine.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
Given the relative scarcity such an arrangement implies and the NFL’s unmatched reach, commercials that air within that content tend to fly off the shelves.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scarcity
John Leos, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Projects that address water scarcity can help reduce disease, support education, create jobs, empower women and combat climate change, all in one effort.
—Sivan Yaari, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
In addition to political persecution, returning Venezuelans would reenter a country teetering on collapse—maligned by hyperinflation, soaring unemployment, rampant crime, frequent power outages, water shortages and chronic scarcities of food and medicine.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
Given the relative scarcity such an arrangement implies and the NFL’s unmatched reach, commercials that air within that content tend to fly off the shelves.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scarcity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scarcity
Noun
-
But 2025 marks the highest number of staffing shortages since 2018.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
This is driven by a shortage of primary care doctors and patients’ desire for more personalized care, Harrell said.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And the noticeable dips also don’t come for the generations of players who would be expecting to play their peak years for England during wartime either — note the lack of games in the 1940s in the earlier graph.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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The lack of winning has been exactly the problem during the Chuba years at Carolina.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scarcity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scarcity. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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