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scarce

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of scarce

1 less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable
  • Food was a bit scarce last winter.
Synonyms of scarce

exiguous, hand-to-mouth, light, meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparing, sparse, stingy
Words Related to scarce

deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, short, wanting

bare, bare-bones

least, littlest, lowest, mere, minimal, slightest
Phrases Synonymous with scarce

thin on the ground
Near Antonyms of scarce

adequate, enough, satisfactory, sufficient, tolerable

fat, fecund, fertile, fruitful, prolific, rich

lavish, luxuriant

excess, extra, surplus
Antonyms of scarce

abundant, ample, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful
2 not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need
  • Help is always scarce in the resort town during the busy summer season.
Synonyms of scarce

deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, low, short, shy, wanting
Words Related to scarce

substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory

hand-to-mouth, lean, light, meager (or meagre), poor, scant, scanty, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy

bare, minimum

slight, small
Near Antonyms of scarce

abundant, ample, bounteous, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful

enlarged, expanded, supplemented

abounding, overflowing, teeming

satisfactory, tolerable

big, considerable, hefty, jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), large, largish, oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable)
Antonyms of scarce

adequate, enough, sufficient

Synonym Discussion of scarce

infrequent, uncommon, scarce, rare, sporadic mean not common or abundant. infrequent implies occurrence at wide intervals in space or time.
    • infrequent family visits
uncommon suggests a frequency below normal expectation.
    • smallpox is now uncommon in many countries
scarce implies falling short of a standard or required abundance.
    • jobs were scarce during the Depression
rare suggests extreme scarcity or infrequency and often implies consequent high value.
    • rare first editions
sporadic implies occurrence in scattered instances or isolated outbursts.
    • sporadic cases of influenza

Learn More about scarce

  1. Dictionary: Definition of scarce Spanish Central: Translation of scarce Nglish: Translation of scarce for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of scarce for Arabic speakers

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