adjective
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limited; barely enough; meagre
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insufficient; inadequate
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lacking fullness; small
Synonym Usage
Scanty, meager, sparse refer to insufficiency or deficiency in quantity, number, etc. Scanty denotes smallness or insufficiency of quantity, number, supply, etc.: a scanty supply of food. Meager indicates that something is poor, stinted, or inadequate: meager fare; a meager income. Sparse applies particularly to that which grows thinly or is thinly strewn or sown, often over a wide area: sparse vegetation; a sparse population.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of scanty
First recorded in 1650–60; scant + -y 1; scanty ( def. 4 ) blend of scanty and panties
Explanation
We refer to an amount or thing that is not quite enough as scanty, or lacking. It's an adjective used to describe something that doesn't offer enough, as in "farmers having a scanty crop in a drought year." The adjective scanty comes from the Old Norse scamt, which means "short or brief," and so suggests a small amount. The word usually suggests a meager amount, and can refer to anything that is barely sufficient. Someone trying to stretch a meal might offer scanty servings. On a humorous note, a Roaring Twenties flapper referred to her underwear as scanties.
Vocabulary lists containing scanty
On the Origin of Species
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The Bridge Home
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"Declaration of Sentiments," Vocabulary from the public document
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“My success in life has not been derived from superior abilities, or extensive knowledge, a very small and scanty share of either having fallen to my lot,” Willing wrote in a short autobiography in 1786.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Much of it was placed underground and reliable analysis on how much they have is scanty, but Shapiro believed the Chinese might have 1.2 billion barrels stockpiled — 104 days of storage.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026
Reliable data is scanty, but experts point to a 2009 government estimate of an export "capacity" of 800 tonnes -- enough to make the trade highly lucrative.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
While a few successful experiments had been reported by hobbyists in Australia and Germany, details were scanty.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025
Then the scanty supply of food was distressing: with the keen appetites of growing children, we had scarcely sufficient to keep alive a delicate invalid.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
“Less prominent victims of Chinese censorship would have scantier chances of redress.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2021
Data on the efficacy of sugar taxes are scantier, but the available evidence shows that they, too, lower consumption.
From Economist ● Jul. 26, 2018
This means less room for others who might be seeking psychiatric care, while at the same time, states have cut billions from mental health, leaving even scantier outpatient systems.
From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2017
As for Gunn, it was seven years before he made another film, “Personal Problems,” which was done with an even scantier budget and never released at all.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 15, 2016
Our food grew each day scantier, and we were forced to move each day and every day, no matter what the sky or trail might be.
From The Trail of the Goldseekers A Record of Travel in Prose and Verse by Garland, Hamlin
The Seahawks still have the scantiest of playoff hopes remaining — less than 0.1% according to FiveThirtyEight.com.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2021
He makes assertions with the scantiest of proof, but delivered with utter certainty.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 17, 2016
And they made only the scantiest mention of any history of disputation.
From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2012
On the scantiest of evidence, scholars espoused the idea that ancient Greek athletes were all “amateurs” who competed without reward except for wreaths.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2012
Such work as they could previously get came at uncertain intervals, and was sought by so many competitors that the remuneration was of the scantiest amount.
From Contemporary Socialism by Rae, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
