Definition

Noun: 1. A scarcity or lack of something; an inadequate supply. This refers to a situation where there is not enough of something that is needed or wanted. 2. A famine or severe shortage of food. This is a more specific and serious meaning, describing a period when food is extremely scarce.

Usage

The word "dearth" is a formal term used to describe a notable absence or insufficiency. It often implies that the shortage is significant and problematic.

Examples

• There is a dearth of affordable housing in the city.
• The report highlighted a dearth of reliable data on the subject.
• The long drought led to a dearth of crops and a time of great hardship.
• Despite many applicants, there was a dearth of truly qualified candidates.

Advanced Usage

• "A dearth of": This is the most common collocation, followed by the thing that is scarce (e.g., a dearth of talent, a dearth of evidence).
• The term can be used in both concrete contexts (a dearth of water) and abstract ones (a dearth of ideas).

Variants and Related Words

• Dearth does not have common verb or adjective forms. It functions solely as a noun.

Synonyms

• Scarcity: The state of being in short supply.
• Shortage: A situation in which something needed cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts.
• Deficiency: A lack or shortage.
• Famine (for the food-related meaning): Extreme scarcity of food.
• Paucity: The presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities.

Antonyms

• Abundance: A very large quantity of something.
• Surplus: An amount of something left over when requirements have been met; an excess.
• Plenty: A large or sufficient amount or quantity.

Idioms and Phrases

• "In dearth of": A less common but grammatically correct phrase meaning "in a state of lacking."
  • The project was abandoned in dearth of funding.

Noun

1. an insufficient quantity or number
2. an acute insufficiency