Synonyms for scarce
- adjective
- adverb
Most common
rare uncommon infrequent scanty insufficient seldom sparse scant
All synonyms
Adjective
rare, uncommon, infrequent, scanty, sparse, poor, insufficient, scant, seldom, inadequate, meager US CA, meagre UK, thin, tight informal, deficient, unusual, slender, unique, wanting, lean, lank, unfrequent, selly UK, raresome, dearthy, sparing, skimpy, unsatisfactory, geason rare, selcouth dated, seld dated
Adverb
Definitions
- adj. 1
Uncommon, rare; difficult to find; insufficient to meet a demand.
By the end of the 20th century elephants had become scarce even in Africa.
- adv. 1
Scarcely, only just.
Related words
- Word family
- scarcely scarceness scarcity
Choose the right word
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.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- rare For most of them, this is quite a rare experience.
- uncommon A six-figure income isn't uncommon for physicians.
- infrequent Rain is an infrequent occurrence in this part of the country.
- scanty The rice crop was scanty this year.
- insufficient Due to insufficient sales, many shops are closed.
- seldom She is very careful, so she seldom makes mistakes.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| scarce | steady | |
| rare | steady | |
| uncommon | steady | |
| infrequent | falling | |
| scanty | falling | |
| insufficient | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- just1, poor1, rare1, thin1, lean1, lank1, seld
- 5 letters
- tight1, scant1, selly
- 6 letters
- unique2, hardly2, barely2, seldom2, sparse1, meager2, meagre, skimpy2, scanty2, geason
- 7 letters
- unusual4, wanting2, slender2, sparing2, dearthy
- 8 letters
- uncommon3, scarcely2, raresome, selcouth
- 9 letters
- deficient3
- 10 letters
- inadequate4, infrequent3, unfrequent
- 12 letters
- insufficient4
- 14 letters
- unsatisfactory6
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (unique2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- échars