Synonyms for scarce
skɛərsscarce

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.5 / 4 votes

1. scarce

   Unique is alone of its kind; rare is infrequent of its kind; great poems are rare; "Paradise Lost" is unique. To say of a thing that it is rare is simply to affirm that it is now seldom found, whether previously common or not; as, a rare old book; a rare word; to call a thing scarce implies that it was at some time more plenty, as when we say food or money is scarce. A particular fruit or coin may be rare; scarce applies to demand and use, and almost always to concrete things; to speak of virtue, genius, or heroism as scarce would be somewhat ludicrous. Rare has the added sense of precious, which is sometimes, but not necessarily, blended with that above given; as, a rare gem. Extraordinary, signifying greatly beyond the ordinary, is a neutral word, capable of a high and good sense or of an invidious, opprobrious, or contemptuous signification; as, extraordinary genius; extraordinary wickedness; an extraordinary assumption of power; extraordinary antics; an extraordinary statement is incredible without overwhelming proof.

   See synonyms for GENERAL; NORMAL; USUAL.

   Synonyms:
   curious, extraordinary, incomparable, infrequent, odd, peculiar, precious, rare, remarkable, singular, strange, uncommon, unique, unparalleled, unprecedented, unusual

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. scarce

   Synonyms:
   rare, infrequent, unabundant, unique, uncommon, unusual, singular, precious, choice, few, wanting, sparse

   Antonyms:
   common, frequent, abundant, valueless, thick, plentiful

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:3.2 / 10 votes

1. scarceadverb

   deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand

   "fresh vegetables were scarce during the drought"

   Antonyms:
   rank, overabundant, rich, long, lush, plentiful, teeming, rampant, ample, plethoric, verdant, abounding, torrential, plenteous, thick, riotous, abundant, copious, galore(ip), superabundant, profuse, luxuriant, easy, exuberant, rife, voluminous

2. barely, hardly, just, scarcely, scarceadverb

   only a very short time before

   "they could barely hear the speaker"; "we hardly knew them"; "just missed being hit"; "had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open"; "would have scarce arrived before she would have found some excuse to leave"- W.B.Yeats

   Synonyms:
   just, barely, hardly, scarcely, merely, scantily, exactly, simply, but, precisely, only, just now

   Antonyms:
   luxuriant, superabundant, abundant, plenteous, torrential, plethoric, overabundant, abounding, copious, galore(ip), long, rife, profuse, thick, teeming, riotous, voluminous, ample, rank, rich, plentiful, exuberant, easy, rampant, lush, verdant

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. scarceadjective

   Synonyms:
   deficient, wanting, not plentiful, not abundant

2. scarceadjective

   Synonyms:
   rare, uncommon, infrequent

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. scarceadjective

   Synonyms:
   rare, unplentiful, deficient

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:4.5 / 2 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "scarce":

   rare, meagre, limited, scant, few, uncommon, sparse, little, lean, infrequent, meager, low

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use scarce in a sentence?

1. Josh Billings:

   As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.

2. Albert Einstein:

   Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. (said of Mahatma Gandhi)

3. James Cox:

   Prosecutions of market manipulation by the government are as scarce as hen's teeth.

4. Ralph Waldo Emerson:

   Can anybody remember when the times were not hard and money not scarce

5. Rownak Khan:

   The earthquake has caused unimaginable destruction, hospitals are overflowing, water is scarce, bodies are still buried under the rubble and people are still sleeping in the open. This is a perfect breeding ground for disease.