Scarce - definition, pronunciation, transcription

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Amer.  |skers|  American pronunciation of the word scarce
Brit.  |skeəs|  British pronunciation of the word scarce

adjective

- deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand
fresh vegetables were scarce during the drought

adverb

- only a very short time before (syn: barely, hardly, just, scarcely)
had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open
would have scarce arrived before she would have found some excuse to leave
- almost not (syn: barely, hardly, scarcely)
he was scarce sixteen years old
they scarcely ever used the emergency generator

Extra examples

Food was getting scarce during the drought.

...food was a bit scarce last winter...

I could scarce believe what I was hearing.

Fruit was scarce, and cost a lot.

Food was often scarce in the winter.

There was fierce competition for the scarce resources.

He could scarce believe it.

Jobs are scarce, and that is especially true for managers.

Coinage was scarce in the colonies.

Where words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain ...

Nursery places for children are scarce in some parts of the country.

The people were asked to refrain from baths while water was scarce.

If food is scarce, the mother will feed the smaller, weaker chicks.

I decided it was time to make myself scarce.

Word forms

adjective
comparative: scarcer
superlative: scarcest
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