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GRE vocabulary

dearth

nounHigh-frequency wordMore D words

a scarcity or shortage of something

Word origin: From Middle English derth, from dere, costly or scarce.

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In a sentence

Dearth in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing dearth in a sentence.

A dearth of rain that summer left the reservoirs dangerously low.

The region's dearth of trained physicians forced patients to travel hours for routine care.

Synonyms
scarcitypaucitylack
Antonyms
abundancesurplusplethora

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Verbal · Text Completion

Critics initially dismissed the composer's late works as merely blank, but later scholars recognized in them a deliberate restraint that concealed considerable technical sophistication.

Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Usage & nuance

Using “dearth” well

Dearth means a damaging shortage and pairs with scarcity and paucity. Despite sounding related to death, the words are unconnected; dearth derives from dear in the old sense of costly because scarce.

Common questions

Questions about “dearth”

Dearth (noun) means a scarcity or shortage of something
Here is dearth used in an example sentence: "A dearth of rain that summer left the reservoirs dangerously low." Another example: "The region's dearth of trained physicians forced patients to travel hours for routine care."
Common synonyms for dearth include scarcity, paucity, lack.
Antonyms of dearth include abundance, surplus, plethora.
Clusters with scarcity, paucity, and lack in Sentence Equivalence. Antonyms abundance, surplus, and plethora describe an oversupply.
Yes. Dearth is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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