scarcity
Not enough around
Scarcity is the condition of being in short supply relative to demand.
Economics treats scarcity as fundamental—resources are finite while wants are unlimited.
The word emphasizes insufficiency: Water scarcity threatens the region, a scarcity of affordable housing.
Scarcity often drives up value, as with rare commodities or limited editions.
Amount still owed
- dearthAcute shortage of something
- lackDeficiency or absence
- insufficiencyShortfall in amount needed
- shortfallFailure to reach quota
undersupply · depletion · paucity · famine · drought · privation · want · inadequacy
State of lacking necessities
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
- needEssential requirement
- wantTo desire something
inequality · welfare · homelessness · houselessness · slum · shantytown · favela · squalor
Seldom found or seen
- uniqueOnly one exists
- preciousHighly esteemed, greatly valued
- collectibleObject worth amassing
- exclusiveLimited to one group
sought-after · one-of-a-kind · irreplaceable · priceless · uncommon · exceptional · antique · vintage
Furnish or stock
- demandForceful request or requirement
- priceMonetary value assigned
- inflationSustained price level increase
- costRequired payment amount
market · allocation · resources · constraint · trade · utility · efficiency · competition
Emotional response to threat
- worryTroubled mental state
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- insecurityUncertainty about oneself
- desperationUtter loss of hope
panic · hoarding · competition · survival · stress · pressure · crisis · urgency
Maintaining something's condition
- sustainabilityCapacity to endure indefinitely
- resourcefulnessAbility to solve problems creatively
- efficiencyProductive without waste
- stewardshipResponsible care of entrusted things
frugality · recycling · renewable · rationing · thrift · composting · restraint · moderation
deficit
Amount still owed
- dearthAcute shortage of something
- lackDeficiency or absence
- insufficiencyShortfall in amount needed
shortfall · undersupply · depletion · paucity · famine · drought · privation · want · inadequacy · unavailability
deprivation
State of lacking necessities
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
- needEssential requirement
want · inequality · welfare · homelessness · houselessness · slum · shantytown · favela · squalor · hand-to-mouth
rare
Seldom found or seen
- uniqueOnly one exists
- preciousHighly esteemed, greatly valued
- collectibleObject worth amassing
exclusive · sought-after · one-of-a-kind · irreplaceable · priceless · uncommon · exceptional · antique · vintage · heirloom
supply
Furnish or stock
- demandForceful request or requirement
- priceMonetary value assigned
- inflationSustained price level increase
cost · market · allocation · resources · constraint · trade · utility · efficiency · competition · hoarding
fear
Emotional response to threat
- worryTroubled mental state
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- insecurityUncertainty about oneself
desperation · panic · hoarding · competition · survival · stress · pressure · crisis · urgency · tension
preservation
Maintaining something's condition
- sustainabilityCapacity to endure indefinitely
- resourcefulnessAbility to solve problems creatively
- efficiencyProductive without waste
stewardship · frugality · recycling · renewable · rationing · thrift · composting · restraint · moderation · prudence
craving
Powerful urge to have
envy · hunger · thirst · wanting · obsession · greed · appetite · pining · lust · aspiration
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- shortfallsdeficit, shortfall, budget shortfall, shortage, gap
- resourcesresources, money, natural resources, human resources, financial resources
- capitalismcapitalism, free market, free enterprise, private property, profit motive
- economicssupply and demand, inflation, GDP, GNP, gross domestic product
- economyGDP, money, inflation, inflation rate, GNP
scarcityabundance
Ample supply, overflowing
plenty · surplus · excess · glut · sufficiency
scarcityabundance
Ample supply, overflowing
commonness · prevalence · frequency · ubiquity · pervasiveness
- water scarcityInsufficient freshwater for demand
- food scarcityInsufficient available nutrition
- scarcity mindsetBelief in perpetual shortage
- artificial scarcityIntentionally limited supply
- fake scarcityEngineered perception of limited supply
- resource scarcityInsufficient supply of necessities