Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Scarcity

Definition: Scarcity

Scarcity

Noun

1. A small and inadequate amount.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "scarcity" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Scarcity

DomainDefinition

Dream Interpretation

To dream of scarcity, foretells sorrow in the household and failing affairs. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Scarcity

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Scarcity is a central concept in economics. Resources are scarce if any individual would prefer to have more of that good or service than they already have. Most goods and services are scarce - those that are not are known as free goods.

Where goods are scarce it is necessary for society to make choices as to how they are allocated and used. Economists study (among other things) how societies perform the optimal allocation of these resources.

For example, we may all want to own gold jewelery. However, the amount of gold available is limited, so it is necessary to make choices as to how it is allocated. In a market economy, this is achieved by trade. Individuals trade resources between themselves to reallocate resources to where they are most wanted. In a smoothly operating market system, the rate of exchange between different resources, or price will adjust so that demand is equal to supply. One of the roles of the economist is to discover the relationship between demand and supply and develop mechanisms (such as pricing, incentives, or penalties) to achieve an optimal outcome (in terms of consumer welfare) between supply and demand.

"Substantivist" economists and economic anthropologists have argued that "scarcity" is a social construct and not a universal.

Certain intangible goods are likely to remain scarce by definition or by design; examples include awards generated by honours systems, fame, and membership of elites. These things are said to have scarcity value; that is to say, all or most of their value is derived from their scarcity.

Further reading:

see also Thomas Malthus

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Scarcity."

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Synonym: Scarcity

Synonym: scarceness (n). (additional references)
Antonym: abundance (n). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Scarcity

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Insufficiency

Scarcity, dearth; want, need, lack, poverty, exigency; inanition, starvation, famine, drought.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Scarcity

English words defined with "scarcity": BergmealCalochortus nuttallii, causalDerthHoney antinfrequencyrareness, rarity, rationsego lily, stringencytight, tightness. (references)
Specialty definitions using "scarcity": crop water rate, cycle droughtGlasgow Magistrate, GunpowderKing of Barkoccupier's water ratePatchrelatively less developedto buy up, to corner. (references)
Etymologies containing "scarcity": Derth. (references)

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Commercial Usage: Scarcity

DomainTitle

Books

  • Economics: Dealing with Scarcity (reference)

  • Environment, Scarcity, and Violence. (reference)

  • From Scarcity to Visibility: Gender Differences in the Careers of Doctoral Scientists and Engineer (reference)

  • Scarcity and evil (reference)

  • Scarcity and Survival in Central America: Ecological Origins of the Soccer War (reference)

    (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Photo Album: Scarcity

ThumbnailDescription & Credit

Smoking a cigar, an angry President McKinley fights with Spain about the scarcity of Havana cigars due to the Spanish-American War. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Scarcity

AuthorQuotation

Samuel Johnson

Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity.

Thomas Love Peacock

The waste of plenty is the resource of scarcity.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Scarcity

SubjectTopicQuote

Health

Two or more factors may explain the relative scarcity of HPS cases among children. (references)

However, in the United States, the scarcity of donor hearts limits the number of transplantations to about 2,000 persons a year. Those who qualify for heart transplantation often have to wait months, or even years, for a suitable donor heart. (references)

Business

The increasing scarcity of water resources in China has become a serious threat to the country's future development. (references)

Companies in this sector are facing problems competing with imports, due to credit scarcity and lack of incentives to increase production. (references)

Demand for these products has been limited due to the scarcity of financing at reasonable interest rates and to the poor productivity and revenues of the agricultural sectors. (references)

Children

Zambia

A lack of adequate educational facilities and a scarcity of educational materials are problems. (references)

Civil Liberties

Haiti

With a low rate of literacy (approximately 52 percent) and the relative scarcity of televisions, the most important medium is radio, especially those stations broadcasting in Creole. (references)

Economic History

Chad

In practice, this law has not been applied due to the scarcity of skilled labor. (references)

Human Rights

Congo

Prison conditions remained poor due to overcrowded facilities and scarcity of resources to provide food or health care to the inmates. (references)

Vietnam

Although the Constitution provides for legal counsel for persons accused of criminal offenses, the scarcity of lawyers makes this provision impossible to enforce. (references)

Angola

The Government continued to pay increased attention to the rights of prisoners during the year; however, there was no substantial change in practice by year's end because of a scarcity of personnel and resources and a lack of official determination to ensure these rights. (references)

Political Economy

PANAMA

Extraordinary quotas have been authorized for rice and pork products when stocks have gone down in order to prevent scarcity of food products. (references)

JAPAN

While U.S. carriers have been generally happy with the results of the 1998 agreement, scarcity of slots at Narita airport, along with expensive and inadequate facilities, have limited carriers' ability to use new traffic rights. (references)

Trade

Nigeria

This facility is made available in local currency and enables manufacturers of exportable goods to procure adequate local materials (which may be seasonal) needed to keep their production at optimal levels particularly during the periods of scarcity. (references)

Travel

Chad

This scarcity is due in part in the lack of construction materials and the high cost of energy. (references)

Worker Rights

Namibia

However, the scarcity of judges and lack of expertise in labor law causes lengthy and unnecessary delays. (references)

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

GUNPOWDER, n. An agency employed by civilized nations for the settlement of disputes which might become troublesome if left unadjusted. By most writers the invention of gunpowder is ascribed to the Chinese, but not upon very convincing evidence. Milton says it was invented by the devil to dispel angels with, and this opinion seems to derive some support from the scarcity of angels. Moreover, it has the hearty concurrence of the Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. Secretary Wilson became interested in gunpowder through an event that occurred on the Government experimental farm in the District of Columbia. One day, several years ago, a rogue imperfectly reverent of the Secretary's profound attainments and personal character presented him with a sack of gunpowder, representing it as the sed of the Flashawful flabbergastor, a Patagonian cereal of great commercial value, admirably adapted to this climate. The good Secretary was instructed to spill it along in a furrow and afterward inhume it with soil. This he at once proceeded to do, and had made a continuous line of it all the way across a ten-acre field, when he was made to look backward by a shout from the generous donor, who at once dropped a lighted match into the furrow at the starting-point. Contact with the earth had somewhat dampened the powder, but the startled functionary saw himself pursued by a tall moving pillar of fire and smoke and fierce evolution. He stood for a moment paralyzed and speechless, then he recollected an engagement and, dropping all, absented himself thence with such surprising celerity that to the eyes of spectators along the route selected he appeared like a long, dim streak prolonging itself with inconceivable rapidity through seven villages, and audibly refusing to be comforted. "Great Scott! what is that?" cried a surveyor's chainman, shading his eyes and gazing at the fading line of agriculturist which bisected his visible horizon. "That," said the surveyor, carelessly glancing at the phenomenon and again centering his attention upon his instrument, "is the Meridian of Washington." H

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Speeches: Scarcity

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

Lyndon B. Johnson

1963-1969I will seek new ways to use our knowledge to help deal with the explosion in world population and the growing scarcity in world resources.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Scarcity

"Scarcity" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Scarcity" is used about 208 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)100%20821,075

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Scarcity

Expression using "scarcity": scarcity value. Additional references.

Hypenated Usage

Ending with "scarcity": labour-scarcity, post-scarcity.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Scarcity

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

scarcity

24

the scarcity of water

15

economic scarcity

5

economics scarcity

3

article scarcity

2

definition scarcity

2

care health in scarcity

2

oil scarcity

2

resource scarcity

2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Scarcity

Language Translations for "scarcity"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

rrallësi (rareness, rarity), pamjaftueshmëri (deficiency, inadequacy, insufficiency, lack, scantiness), mungesë (absence, absentness, dearth, deficiency, deficit, destitution, lack, Miss, non-attendance, poverty, shortcoming, short-fall, want, Wantage). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏نقص في المؤن, ‏نقص (allow, cut, cut down, decrease, deficiency, depress, deprivation, detract, diminish, diminution, disadvantage, drawback, failing, famish, flaw, gap, imperfection, incompetence, insufficiency, knock off, lack, lessen, limit, lower, paucity, rareness, reduce, reduction, retrench, revocation, scantiness, shortage, shortcoming, thin), ‏إحتياج (lack). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

рядкост (curiosity, freak, rareness, rarity, sparsity, virtu), глад (famine, hunger, starvation), оскъдица (dearth, sparsity), недостатъчност (inadequacy, sparsity), недостиг (deficit, famine, insufficiency, lack, privation, scarceness, shortage, stringency, ullage, want), липса (absence, default, defect, deficiency, failure, lack, penury, poverty, privation, shortage, shortcoming, stringency, ullage, want). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

缺乏 (Dearth, Deficiencies, Deficiency, lack, Lacked, lacking, scant, scarce). (various references)

   

Czech

  

nouze (deprivation, destitution, distress, indigence, necessities, need, needs, pinch, poverty, privation, want), nedostatek (absence, defect, deficiency, deficit, demerit, drawback, failing, failure, fault, inadequacy, insufficiency, lack, non-availability, penury, poverty, privation, shortage, shortcoming, want). (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

کمیابی (Infrequency, Paucity, Poverty, Rarity). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

vähyys (fewness, shortage, smallness), niukkuus (scantiness), harvuus (thinness). (various references)

   

French

  

rareté (scarceness), raréfaction des ressources en eau, pénurie, manque, disette (scarceness). (various references)

   

German

  

Knappheit (brevity, conciseness, concision, crispness, famine, insufficiency, lowness, paucity, penury, scantiness, scantness, scarceness, shortage, shortness, skimpiness, succinctness, tautness, terseness, tightness), Mangel (absence, dearth, default, defect, deficiency, deficit, desideratum, drought, fault, flaw, imperfection, lack, mangle, need, paucity, penury, poverty, privation, privations, rotary iron, scarcities, shortage, shortcoming, vise, want). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

έλλειψη (absence, dearth, default of, defect, deficiency, ellipse, failing, lack, shortage, shortage of, shortcoming, want). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

מחסור (deficiency, deprivation, insufficiency, lack, misery, need, paucity, scarceness, shortage, want), בצורת (dearth, drought), רעב (famine, famished, gluttonous, greedy, hunger, hungry, ravenous, starvation, yearning), "ירות (dearth, infrequency, rareness, rarity, scarceness). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

hiány (absence, blank, dearth, defect, deficiency, deficit, deprivation, failure, hiatus, lack, missing, missing link, poverty, scarceness, shortage, shortcoming, upchuck, want, wastage), vminek a szűke, szűke vminek. (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

kelangkaan (rarity). (various references)

   

Italian

  

strettezza (lack, narrowness, scantness, shortage, skimpiness, tightness), scarsit (dearth, lack, poorness, scarceness, shortage, slenderness), scarsezza (jejuneness, paucity, scantiness, scarceness), rarit (curio, exceptional, infrequence, rareness, rarity). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

払底 (dearth, famine, shortage). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

すくな', ふってい (dearth, famine, shortage). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

부족 (Deficiencies, Deficiency, lack, shortage, tribal, tribe). (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

arcityscay.(various references)

   

Portuguese

  

penúria (destitution, famine, paucity, penurity, penury, shortage), insuficiência (defect, failure, insufficiency, paucity, shortcoming), falta (absence, default, deficiency, fail, failing, forfeit, foul, guilt, lack, lacuna, miss, mistake, need, non-attendance, omission, paucity, penurity, penury, privation, shortage, shortcoming, slip, want, wantage), escassez (dearth, famine, paucity, shortage, stringency, want), carência (absence, failure, famine, lack, miss, need, negation, penurity, penury, poorness, shortage, stringency, want). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

sãrãcie (baldness, barrenness, dearth, destitution, impecuniosity, indigence, meanness, misery, necessity, neediness, poverty, privation, scantiness, scarceness, sterility, stringency, want), raritate (curio, dearth, rare, rarity, scantiness, scarceness, singularity), puţinãtate (fewness, paucity, smallness), neîndestulare (shortage, shortcoming). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

скудость (barrenness, exiguity, scantiness), редкость (curio, curiosity, rara avis, rareness, rarity, sparseness, sparsity, sparsness, white crow), недостаток (blemish, dearth, default, defect, deficiency, demerit, destitution, disadvantage, drawback, failing, failure, fault, flaw, lack, letdown, minus, objection, penury, privation, shortage, shortcoming, vice, want), дефицит (deficit, scarcities, shortfall, shortfall on, shortfalls). (various references)

   

Scottish

  

gainne (a dart). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

oskudica (dearth, destitution, lack, necessity, need, penury, privation, scarceness, want, wantage), nestašica (dearth, lack, paucity, scarceness, shortage, want). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

escasez (dearth, famine, lack, meanness, need, parsimony, paucity, poverty, scantiness, scarceness, shortage, sparseness, stinginess, tightness, want). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

knapphet (dearth, exiguity, paucity, shortage, stringency). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

nadirlik (infrequency, scarceness), kıtlık (dearth, drought, exiguity, failure, famine, paucity, penury, scantiness, scantness, scarceness, shortage, slimness, sparseness, sparsity), azlık (exiguity, fewness, littleness, minority, paucity, scantiness, scantness, slimness, spareness, tightness), az bulunurluk. (various references)

   

Turkmen 

  

kцst (lack, shortage), kemlik (lack, shortage), kemзilik (shortage). (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

рідкість (curio, rareness, rarity), недостача (absence, dearth, failure, lack, need, non-availability, penury, poverty, shortage, shortcoming, shortfall, shortness, want). (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

sự thiếu thốn (meagreness, paucity, penuriousness, poverty), sự khan hiếm, sự khó tìm. (various references)

   

Welsh

  

prinder (scarceness), drudaniaeth (dearth, paucity). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Scarcity

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

inopia, inopiae, inopiam, paucitas, paucitate, paucitatem, paucorum, penuria, penuriam. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Misspellings: Scarcity

Misspellings

"Scarcity" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: scacity, scaricty, scarity, Scarpitta, scarsity, starchily. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Scarcity"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "scarcity" (pronounced ske"rsutē)
5-r s u t ēvarsity.
4-s u t ēadversity, analyticity, animosity, atrocity, audacity, authenticity, biodiversity, capacity, complexity, complicity, curiosity, density, laxity, diversity, domesticity, duplicity, eccentricity, elasticity, electricity, ethnicity, falsity, Felicity, ferocity, generosity, incapacity, intensity, mendacity, monstrosity, multiplicity, necessity, obesity, opacity, overcapacity, paucity, perplexity, perversity, pomposity, propensity, publicity, reciprocity, religiosity, simplicity, specificity, tenacity, toxicity, university, velocity, veracity, virtuosity, viscosity, voracity.
3-u t ēabsurdity, acceptability, accessibility, ability, abnormality, accountability, acidity, activity, actuality, acuity, adaptability, admissibility, advisability, affinity, affordability, aggressivity, agility, alacrity, alkalinity, ambiguity, amenity, amiability, amity, annuity, anonymity, antiquity, anxiety, applicability, austerity, authority, availability, banality, barbarity, believability, bestiality, bisexuality, brevity, brutality, calamity, capability, captivity, causality, cavity, celebrity, centrality, charity, chastity, civility, clarity, collegiality, commodity, commonality, community, comparability, compatibility, comprehensibility, conditionality, conductivity, confidentiality, conformity, congeniality, congruity, connectivity, constitutionality, continuity, convertibility, creativity, credibility, credulity, criminality, criticality, crotchety, culpability, cyclicality, debility, deductibility, deformity, deity, deniability, dependability, depravity, deputy, desirability, dexterity, dignity, dimensionality, disability, discontinuity, irresponsibility, irritability, laity, legality, disparity, dissimilarity, disunity, divinity, docility, duality, ductility, durability, electability, eligibility, enforceability, enmity, enormity, entity, equality, equanimity, equity, eternity, eventuality, exclusivity, expressivity, extraterritoriality, extremity, facility, fallibility, familiarity, fatality, feasibility, femininity, fertility, festivity, fidelity, finality, flammability, flexibility, fluidity, formality, fragility, fraternity, frivolity, frugality, functionality, futility, generality, geniality, gentility, gratuity, gravity, gullibility, heredity, heterogeneity, heterosexuality, hilarity, homogeneity, homosexuality, hospitality, hostility, humanity, humidity, humility, hyperactivity, hypersensitivity, identity, illegality, illiquidity, immaturity, immobility, immorality, immortality, immunity, impartiality, impersonality, impossibility, impropriety, impunity, impurity, inability, inaccessibility, inactivity, incivility, incompatibility, incongruity, incredulity, indemnity, indestructibility, indignity, individuality, inequality, inequity, inevitability, infallibility, inferiority, infertility, infidelity, infinity, infirmity, inflexibility, informality, ingenuity, inhumanity, insanity, insecurity, insensitivity, instability, instrumentality, insularity, integrity, invincibility, invisibility, invulnerability, irrationality, irregularity, legibility, lethality, levity, liability, liberality, liquidity, lividity, locality, longevity, majority, malleability, maneuverability, marketability, masculinity, materiality, maternity, maturity, mediocrity, mentality, minority, miscibility, mobility, modality, modernity, morality, morbidity, mortality, motility, municipality, musicality, mutuality, nationality, nativity, negativity, neutrality, nobility, Nonconformity, nonentity, nonutility, normality, notoriety, nudity, objectivity, obscenity, obscurity, oddity, opportunity, originality, oversensitivity, palatability, parity, partiality, particularity, passivity, paternity, peculiarity, permeability, perpetuity, personality, piety, plausibility, plurality, polarity, polity, popularity, portability, possibility, posterity, practicality, predictability, principality, priority, probability, probity, proclivity, productivity, profanity, profitability, progressivity, promiscuity, proportionality, propriety, prosperity, proximity, punctuality, purity, quality, quantity, radioactivity, rapidity, rarity, rationality, reactivity, readability, reality, receptivity, reflexivity, regularity, relativity, reliability, respectability, responsibility, retroactivity, rickety, rigidity, salinity, sanctity, sanity, seasonality, security, selectivity, senility, seniority, sensibility, sensitivity, sensuality, sentimentality, serendipity, serenity, severity, sexuality, similarity, sincerity, sobriety, society, solemnity, solidarity, solidity, sorority, speciality, spirituality, spontaneity, stability, sterility, stupidity, subjectivity, suitability, superconductivity, superfluidity, superiority, supermajority, surety, survivability, susceptibility, sustainability, technicality, temerity, theatricality, timidity, tonality, totality, tranquility, transferability, Trinity, triviality, turbidity, ubiquity, unanimity, unavailability, unfamiliarity, uniformity, unity, universality, unpopularity, unpredictability, unreality, unreliability, uppity, utility, validity, vanity, variability, variety, velvety, venality, Verity, versatility, viability, vicinity, virginity, virility, visibility, vitality, volatility, vulgarity, vulnerability.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Scarcity

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "a-c-c-i-r-s-t-y"

-1 letter: arctics, satyric.

-2 letters: arctic, crista, cystic, racist, triacs.

-3 letters: airts, artsy, astir, cacti, carts, circa, cycas, satyr, scart, scary, sitar, stair, stray, stria, tarsi, trays, triac.

-4 letters: acts, airs, airt, airy, aits, arcs, arts, arty, asci, cars, cart, cast, cats, cays, cist, city, cris, cyst, racy, rats, rays, rias, ryas, sari, sati, scar, scat.

 Words containing the letters "a-c-c-i-r-s-t-y"
 

+2 letters: astrocytic, cryostatic, scratchily.

 

+3 letters: antisecrecy, aristocracy, psychiatric, pyroclastic.

 

+4 letters: acrostically, confiscatory, intrapsychic, macrocytosis, microcrystal, pantisocracy, perspicacity, physiocratic, prostacyclin, saccharinity, tachycardias.

 

+5 letters: chalcopyrites, idiosyncratic, microcrystals, prophylactics, prostacyclins, sacrosanctity, sarcastically, tetracyclines.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Commercial
5. Images: Photo Album
6. Quotations: Familiar
7. Quotations: Non-fiction
8. Quotations: Speeches
9. Usage Frequency
10. Expressions
11. Expressions: Internet
12. Translations: Modern
13. Translations: Ancient
14. Derivations
15. Rhymes
16. Anagrams
17. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.