HyperDic: scarce

English > 3 senses of the word *scarce*:
ADVERB	all	scarce, barely, hardly, just, scarcely	only a very short time before
ADVERB	all	scarce, hardly, scarcely, barely	almost not
ADJECTIVE	all	scarce	deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand

scarce > pronunciation
Sounds	skeh'rs

English > *scarce*: 3 senses > adjective 1
Meaning	Deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand.
Example	"fresh vegetables were scarce during the drought"
Attribute of	quantity	An adequate or large amount
Narrower	rare	not widely distributed
Narrower	tight	affected by scarcity and expensive to borrow
See also	meager, meagre, meagerly, stingy, scrimpy	Deficient in amount or quality or extent
Opposite	abundant	Present in great quantity
Spanish	escaso
Catalan	escàs
Nouns	scarcity, scarceness	a small and inadequate amount
Adverbs	scarcely	almost not

English > *scarce*: 3 senses > adverb 1
Meaning	Only a very short time before.
Examples	"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	barely, hardly, just, scarcely
Spanish	apenas

English > *scarce*: 3 senses > adverb 2
Meaning	almost not.
Example	"they scarcely ever used the emergency generator"
Synonyms	hardly, scarcely, barely
Spanish	apenas, difícilmente, escasamente

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