scantiness

noun

Definition of scantinessnext
as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number the scantiness of grass meant that we had to feed the cows extra hay

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scantiness
  1. shortage
  2. lack
  3. deficiency
Noun
  • In the 1940s haute couture status brought practical advantages, but as postwar shortages eased in the early 1950s, those benefits diminished.
    — Alicja Zelazko, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The effort comes as the island faces chronic outages and water shortages, while federal officials have canceled major solar programs intended to help low-income residents.
    — Dánica Coto, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of shortage
Noun
  • One feature the mini borrows from the iPad Pro but that other iPads lack is the option for nano-texture glass, which is designed to reduce glare.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Simons says, counterintuitively, that the lack of information about Sasha’s romantic future actually deepened his onscreen dynamics with both Lupe and Tohn.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of lack
Noun
  • The coaster’s most recent inspection, on March 16, reported no violations, deficiencies, citations or red tags, according to King.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Other diseases that cause similar symptoms and findings include lupus, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, vitamin B12 deficiency, and less common conditions like neuromyelitis optica and MOG antibody disease.
    — Lindsay Karp, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of deficiency
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

scantily
scantiness
scanting
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scantiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scantiness. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of abandon

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All