What does “scarce” mean?
- 1
adjectivenot easy to find or get because there is not enough
Clean water is scarce in many parts of the region.
Scarce at a glance
- Part of speech
- adjective
- CEFR level
- B2 (upper intermediate)
- Pronunciation
- /skɛrs/ · SKAIRS
How to use “scarce” correctly
“Scarcely” means “hardly” (“I could scarcely breathe”), not “in a scarce way”. “Make yourself scarce” is informal for “leave quickly”.
Common phrases with “scarce”
- scarce resources
- become scarce
- jobs are scarce
- make yourself scarce
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- rare
- short
- in short supply
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
- plentiful
- abundant
Word family
- scarcity
- scarcely
“scarce” is on these word lists
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- modest adjectiveB2not talking much about your own abilities or achievements
- steep adjectiveB2rising or falling sharply, so it is hard to go up
- substantial adjectiveB2large in amount, size or importance
- incidental adjectiveC1happening as a minor part of something more important
- nominal adjectiveC1existing in name only, not in reality