paucity

CEFRC1

/ˈpɒs.ɪ.ti/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A very small amount of something.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A smallness in size or amount that is insufficient; meagerness, dearth.

Examples

  • There was also a general paucity of trained operatives.

  • But when I had crossed the threshold, I was astonished at the paucity of facts to be gleaned from the inmates themselves.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
4

Also pronounced

  • [ˈpɔs.ɪ.ɾi]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meaning

  1. Fewness in number; too few.

More examples

In context

  • For sheer paucity of railway facilities, probably the record in Great Britain is held by the Scottish county of Nairn, which has about eight miles of railway and two stations—Nairn and Auldearn.

  • Now came shipwrecks and life in open boats, with the usual paucity of food.

  • Here is where the paucity of our language is made manifest.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Due to the severe drought, there was a blank of water in the reservoir.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English paucete, paucite, paucyte, partly from Middle French paucité and partly from its etymon, Latin paucitās (“a small number, fewness, scarcity”), from paucus (“few, little”). Related to few.