Words: Paucity to Prodigious

Use some of the words below to describe amounts: “There are SO MANY ants in our yard!”  Sounds much smarter when you say, “There’s a plethora of ants in our yard!”  Say that and you’ll get all the ladies, boys.

• Paucity; n. Smallness of number.
• Those in charge of the election were disappointed when they saw the paucity of voters that came.

• Scarcity of amount.
• There was a paucity of clean water which caused some panic.

• Petty; adj. Trivial; of little importance.
• I am in charge of many things an I must leave the petty details to be taken care of by others.

• Narrow-minded; shortsighted.
• Don’t be petty and miss the big picture while being trivial over small details.

• Mean and grudging.
• She’s so petty that she’s still mad at me for the wrong I did to her ten years ago.

• Pittance; n. A very small amount, often referring to an unusually meager amount of money.
• I only earn a pittance at my current job and that is why I’m looking for new employment.

• Scant; adj., v. Adjective: Barely sufficient; falling short of a necessary amount; inadequately supplied.
• Because of the weather, only a scant amount of fans came to the baseball game.

• Verb: To shortchange or deal with something inadequately or neglectfully.
• Because of my demanding job, I scant on time with family.

• Mammoth; n, adj.
• noun: a great, hairy, prehistoric, elephant-like creature.
• I have seen a replica of the remains of a prehistoric mammoth.

• Anything if unusual size.
• Did you see the mammoth mosquito?

• Adjective: enormous; of great or unusual size or proportions.
• Driving the enormous truck was a fun experience for me.

• Monumental; adj. Resembling a monument.
• The monumental gathering for the opening or the store was really fun.

• Exceptionally large, sturdy, or enduring.
• It may seem like a monumental undertaking but I know it will be worth it to write a book.

• Plethora; n. An excessive amount; a surplus.
• We had a plethora of jelly beans left over from Easter.

• Prodigious; adj. Excessively great in size, force, or content.
• The tornado caused such prodigious wind that many trees snapped in half.

• Exceptionally talented.
• She is a prodigious student in her school. She especially excels in theater.