Dearth — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Dearth (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number

   "there was a dearth of usable firewood at the campsite"

   similar: crunch, deficiency, deficit, drought, failure, famine, inadequacy, inadequateness, insufficiency, lack, lacuna, paucity, pinch, poverty, scantiness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want
   related: absence, omission, meagerness, poorness, skimpiness, necessity, need, privation
   opposite: abundance, adequacy, amplitude, opulence, plenitude, plenty, sufficiency, wealth
   near: bountifulness, copiousness, excess, overabundance, oversupply, surfeit, surplus

2. the fact or state of being absent

   "the dearth of salesclerks at the shoe store annoyed us"

   similar: absence, lack, want
   related: deficiency, deficit, failure, famine, inadequacy, inadequateness, insufficiency, meagerness, paucity, poverty, scantiness, scantness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, skimpiness, undersupply, deprivation, loss, necessity, need, needfulness, omission, privation, blankness, emptiness, vacuity, vacuum, void
   opposite: presence
   near: abundance, amplitude, bounty, plenitude, plenteousness, plentifulness, plentitude, plenty, wealth, adequacy, sufficiency, excess, overabundance, oversupply, superabundance, surfeit, surplus, deluge, flood, bushel, deal, gobs, heap, loads, lot, mass, mountain, much, oodles, peck, pile, pot, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, volume, wad, fund, pool, stock, supply, cache, hoard, stash, stockpile