scarce

[skairs]

adjective

scarcer, scarcest 

1. insufficient to satisfy the need or demand; not abundant.

   Meat and butter were scarce during the war.

   Synonyms: deficient
   Antonyms: abundant

2. seldom met with; rare.

   a scarce book.

   Synonyms: infrequent, uncommon

adverb

1. scarcely.

scarce

/ skɛəs /

adjective

1. rarely encountered

2. insufficient to meet the demand

3. informal,  to go away, esp suddenly

adverb

1. archaic,  scarcely

Other Word Forms

• scarceness noun
• unscarce adjective
• unscarcely adverb
• unscarceness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarce¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English scars, from Old North French (e)scars, from Vulgar Latin excarpsus (unrecorded) “plucked out,” from Latin excerptus; excerpt

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarce¹

C13: from Old Norman French scars, from Vulgar Latin excarpsus (unattested) plucked out, from Latin excerpere to select; see _excerpt

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make oneself scarce,

   1. to depart, especially suddenly.

   2. to stay away; avoid.

More idioms and phrases containing scarce

• make oneself scarce

Example Sentences

To be sure, recent economic data, though scarce and delayed by the government shutdown, showed consumers sentiment was steady even amid a cooling labor market.

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At the same time, there are areas where buyers are competing fiercely for scarce listings, offering far above the asking price to close the deal.

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Letter paper was scarce in Plinkst, but she had found a stack of yellowed sheets in the nursery that still bore the faded trace of Master Gogolev’s handwriting.

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The Bosnian judiciary, which opened its own probe years earlier, says it is still verifying the allegations, and details in the current investigation remain scarce.

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A Turkish contractor, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, was pessimistic after a month on the front line, where decent food and water are often scarce.

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Related Words

• deficient 
• limited 
• rare 
• scant 
• scanty 
• sparse 
• sporadic