Paucity: meaning, example and synonyms
Paucityn. The presence of something in only small or insufficient amounts; scarcity.
Example
The paucity of written records from the period forces historians to rely heavily on pottery, tools and other physical remains.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Synonyms
- scarcity, shortage, lack, dearth
- Antonyms
- abundance, plenty, wealth, profusion
- Memory tip
- Paucity sounds like "paltry": only a paltry, tiny amount.
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Check yourself: Paucity in context
A ______ of rainfall over three summers left the reservoir at its lowest level in a century.
Answer: paucity. A record-low reservoir points to too little rain. Zenith means peak and verisimilitude means realism, neither describes a shortage.
Critics faulted the study for the ______ of its evidence: it drew sweeping conclusions from interviews with only six people.
Answer: paucity. Six interviews are too few, so the evidence was scarce. The other nouns don't describe an insufficient amount.