scarcity
noun
Simple meaning
A small and inadequate amount.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
skehrsihteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈskɛɹsɪti
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A small and inadequate amount
countable
An inadequate amount of something; a shortage.
uncountable
The condition of something being scarce or deficient.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A small and inadequate amount
Used this way, scarcity is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It criticises, but without shouting.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Critical but measured
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Only a very short time before.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.