scarce
SKAIRS
/skeəs/
Insufficient for the demand; occurring in small quantities and difficult to find.
Refers to availability relative to demand in a given place or time.
The story behind the word. In medieval times, when items were plucked out or chosen one by one until few were left on the trees or shelves, they were described as 'excarpsus' (picked clean). The word migrated into Norman English as 'scars', capturing the experience of looking for food when almost everything has already been gathered.
Word relationships
- meager: Meager refers to poor quality or small amount, whereas scarce emphasizes lack of availability relative to demand.
- rare: Rare means uncommonly found naturally, while scarce implies an active shortage of a needed item.
- abundant: Abundant means available in large, plentiful quantities.
- plentiful: Plentiful means easily obtainable and existing in ample amounts.
Commonly confused with
- scared: Scared means afraid, whereas scarce means limited or in short supply.
Word family
- scarcity (noun): The state of being in short supply.
- scarcely (adverb): Barely or hardly at all.
Collocations
- scarce resources
- make oneself scarce
- become scarce
- increasingly scarce
Idioms & expressions
- make oneself scarce
Example sentences
- "Clean drinking water became scarce in the weeks following the earthquake." Disaster relief
Memory hook
When food is SCARCE, you get a SCARE about surviving. Scarce = Plucked clean.
When not to use
Do not use to describe something that is completely gone; scarce means rare and hard to get, not absent.
Fun facts
- The idiom 'make yourself scarce' originated in the 19th century as informal slang meaning to depart quickly!
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