Memory connection
Picture “dear Earth”
A letter begins ‘Dear Earth’ beside market stalls that hold only shadows where bread and vegetables should be.
The sound cue helps you reach the scene; the action in the scene carries you from the scene to the definition.
Use it accurately
Meaning in context
A dearth of affordable housing has pushed many workers farther from the city center.
The archive contains a dearth of records from the earliest years.
Dearth nearly always appears as a dearth of something. It emphasizes that the supply is insufficient, not necessarily completely absent.
Common patterns
- a dearth of
- relative dearth
- dearth of evidence
Quick check
Can you retrieve the meaning?
What does a dearth of evidence mean?
Choose an answer, then explain it in your own words.