scant

American  

[skant] / skænt /

adjective

scanter, scantest

1. barely sufficient in amount or quantity; not abundant; almost inadequate.

   to do scant justice.

2. limited; meager; not large.

   a scant amount.

   Synonyms:

   restricted, small, scanty

3. barely amounting to as much as indicated.

   a scant two hours; a scant cupful.

4. having an inadequate or limited supply (usually followed byof ).

   scant of breath.

   Synonyms:

   deficient, wanting, lacking, short

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verb (used with object)

1. to make scant; diminish.

   Synonyms:

   curtail, decrease, reduce, lessen

2. to stint the supply of; withhold.

   Synonyms:

   scrimp, skimp, restrict, limit

3. to treat slightly or inadequately.

   Synonyms:

   neglect, slight

adverb

1. Scot. and North England Dialect. scarcely; barely; hardly.

scant British  

/ skænt /

adjective

1. scarcely sufficient; limited

   he paid her scant attention

2. (prenominal) slightly short of the amount indicated; bare

   a scant ten inches

3. having a short supply (of)

---

verb

1. to limit in size or quantity

2. to provide with a limited or inadequate supply of

3. to treat in a slighting or inadequate manner

adverb

1. scarcely; barely

Other Word Forms

• scantly adverb
• scantness noun

Etymology

Origin of scant

1325–75; Middle English (adj.) < Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr short

Example Sentences

There has been scant good news for California racing lately.

From Los Angeles Times

To their initial astonishment, they have attracted a far wider viewership spanning all ages, even followers who hitherto had only scant interest in ballet.

From Los Angeles Times

But there is scant mention of her thereafter until the first Easter weekend.

From The Wall Street Journal

It continued: "Wales' existing national parks have suffered years of funding cuts. Surely the priority should be to properly fund those before stretching scant resources even further?"

From BBC

As the National Association of Scholars will soon publish in a comprehensive piece by S. Stanley Young and Warren Kindzierski, the Reference Manual pervasively scants the effects of modern science’s irreproducibility crisis.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• insufficient
• mere
• paltry
• scanty
• skimpy
• slight
• sparse