scarcity
SKAIR-suh-tee
/ˈskeərsəti/
The state of being in short supply; shortage.
In economics, scarcity is the fundamental problem of having seemingly unlimited human wants in a world of limited resources.
The story behind the word. From the Old French 'eschars,' which meant stingy or rare. It eventually evolved to describe the objective state of a resource being limited, rather than the character of a person.
Word relationships
- shortage: Shortage is often temporary (like a gas shortage); scarcity is often a permanent condition of resources.
- abundance: A very large quantity of something.
Commonly confused with
- rarity: Rarity means something is unusual or hard to find; scarcity means there isn't enough of it to meet demand.
Word family
- scarce (adjective): Insufficient for the demand.
- scarcely (adverb): Only just; almost not.
Collocations
- water scarcity
- resource scarcity
- relative scarcity
- scarcity of food
Example sentences
- "The scarcity of skilled labor has driven up wages in the tech industry." Economic principle.
- "Water scarcity is expected to become a major source of international conflict in the next century." Environmental warning.
Memory hook
Scarcity = Scarce City. Imagine a city where everything is hard to find. Scarcity = Not enough.
When not to use
Don't use it for something that is rare but not needed (like a 'scarcity of purple elephants').
Fun facts
- The 'Scarcity Principle' in psychology suggests that people value things more when they believe they are in short supply.
Related words
Explore more words
scarce, want, abundance, overconsumption, finite, marginalism
Also appears in
- Finance → Microeconomics & Consumer Behavior
- Nature → Resource Depletion
- Economic Theory & Analysis → Classical & Neoclassical Thought
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → Water Scarcity & Management
- Food Science & Culinary Craft → Food Waste & Overconsumption
- Hobbies, Crafts & Leisure → Collecting & Memorabilia
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