scarce

1 less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable food was a bit scarce last winter Synonyms exiguous, hand-to-mouth, light, niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, meager, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparing, sparse, stingyRelated Words deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, short, wanting; bare, bare-bones; least, littlest, lowest, mere, minimal, slightest; slight, small, thin; barren, infertile, sterile, unfruitful, unproductiveNear Antonyms adequate, enough, satisfactory, sufficient, tolerable; fat, fecund, fertile, fruitful, prolific, rich; lavish, luxuriant; blooming, bursting, flourishing, proliferative, swarming, teeming, thriving; excess, extra, surplusAntonyms 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 deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, low, short, shy, wantingRelated Words substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory; hand-to-mouth, lean, light, meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy; bare, mere, minimum; slight, smallNear Antonyms abundant, ample, bounteous, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful, plentitudinous; enlarged, expanded, supplemented; abounding, overflowing, teeming; satisfactory, tolerable; lavish, luxuriant, rich; big, considerable, hefty, jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), large, largish, oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), substantial, superAntonyms adequate, enough, sufficient