English vocabulary · C1
Dearth
/dɜrθ/ · n.
It means a very small amount of something.
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Example sentences
- There is a dearth of good ideas in this plan.
- The city has a dearth of parking spaces.
Word origin and roots
from Old English
- dear — precious (from Old English)
Synonyms and nuances
- shortage (supply fails to meet demand)
- lack (something needed is simply absent)
- scarcity (resources are rare and hard to find)
Words with the same root
dear — precious
- dear — precious, beloved, or costly — if something is precious it tends to be scarce
- darling — a beloved person, from dear with a diminutive suffix
Lesson notes
Dearth. It means a very small amount of something. Not enough of what you need.
Similar words are shortage, lack, and scarcity. Use dearth when something important is missing and people feel the gap.
There is a dearth of good ideas in this plan. The city has a dearth of parking spaces.
From Old English. Dear means precious. Something precious is rare and hard to find. That gap — when there is not enough — is dearth.