1) Absence 2) Famine 3) Lack 4) Need 5) Paucity 6) Scarcity 7) Shortage 8) Shortfall 1) An acute insufficiency 2) An inadequate supply 3) Deficiency 4) Exclusively Saxon word 5) Exclusively Anglo word 6) Famine 7) Great lack 8) In short supply 9) Inadequate supply 10) Insufficiency 11) Lack 12) Missing quality 13) Opposite of a surplus 14) Paucity 15) Real scarcity 16) Scarce supply 
Dearth means lack, shortage or scarcity. It may also refer to: ==People== ==The arts== ...
• (n.) Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine.
Dearth noun [ Middle English derthe , from dere . See Dear .] Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine. « There came a dearth over all the land of Egypt.» Acts vii. 11. « He with he...
shortage 
[n] - a severe shortage (especially a shortage of food) 2. [n] - an insufficient quantity or number
noun an insufficient quantity or number
an inadequate supply; scarcity; lack: There is a dearth of good engineers. · scarcity and dearness of food; famine.
[SAT terms] an insufficient quantity or number[PSAT glossary] an insufficient quantity or number an insufficient quantity or number[Intelligent words] an insufficient quantity or number