Home › Nature › Resource Depletion › scarcity

scarcity

SKAIR-suh-tee /ˈskeəsəti/

nounC1GRETOEFLIELTSGMAT

academicformal

The state of being scarce or in short supply; shortage.

A core economic term describing the fundamental tension between unlimited human wants and limited resources.

The story behind the word. As economics emerged as a formal discipline in the 18th and 19th centuries, scholars needed a noun to express 'the state of limited supplies versus infinite desires.' They attached '-ity' to 'scarce', turning an everyday adjective about missing goods into a foundational principle of global trade and survival.

Word relationships

shortage: Shortage is a general term for temporary lack, while scarcity implies a broader economic condition.
dearth: Dearth emphasizes a lack that causes distress or hardship in a specific scenario.

abundance: Abundance means a large, overflowing quantity of something.
surplus: Surplus means an excess amount remaining after requirements are met.

Commonly confused with

sacredness: Sacredness refers to holy status, whereas scarcity refers to shortage.

Word family

scarce (adjective): In short supply.
scarcely (adverb): Barely or almost not.

Collocations

water scarcity
resource scarcity
scarcity of supply
acute scarcity

Idioms & expressions

scarcity mindset

Example sentences

"The scarcity of arable land is driving up food prices across the continent." Global Economics

Memory hook

SCARCITY = SCARCE + CITY (a city running out of water faces water scarcity). Scarcity is the condition of being scarce.

When not to use

Avoid using for momentary delays; scarcity implies a structural, systemic shortage.

Fun facts

In economics, 'The Scarcity Principle' asserts that people place higher value on goods that are hard to obtain.