as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
the scarcity of good restaurants around here is surprising
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scarcity
The Supreme Court ruled that, due to spectrum scarcity – the idea that the airwaves are a limited public resource and therefore not every American can operate a broadcast station – the FCC’s power over broadcasting must be expansive.
—
Michael J. Socolow, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2025
And virtually all women east of the Appalachians experienced the violence, sickness, and scarcity of a civil war in which front lines and home fronts were never far apart.
—Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
The state’s older housing stock and popularity among those seeking beachfront vacation homes or easy commutes into New York City contribute to the scarcity, the report added.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
This job scarcity is likely to mean more restrictions across the board — on their time and on their speech.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scarcity
Michael J. Socolow, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2025
And virtually all women east of the Appalachians experienced the violence, sickness, and scarcity of a civil war in which front lines and home fronts were never far apart.
—Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
The state’s older housing stock and popularity among those seeking beachfront vacation homes or easy commutes into New York City contribute to the scarcity, the report added.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
This job scarcity is likely to mean more restrictions across the board — on their time and on their speech.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scarcity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scarcity
Noun
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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
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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
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But the mob’s relative lack of visibility does not mean it’s gone away.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Scarcity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scarcity. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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