scant

[skant]

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

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of scant¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of scant¹

C14: from Old Norse skamt, from skammr /short; related to Old High German scam

Example Sentences

Admittedly, in those cases financial controls were looser, usually because scant infrastructure and operational uncertainties made bean-counting impossible.

From Salon

Shrouded in secrecy, Naidorf was given scant information other than the building’s dimensions and location.

From Los Angeles Times

Among them are scant federal support and the slow, costly bureaucratic processes involved with the program, such as cleaning up contaminated project sites and getting permits.

From Los Angeles Times

Failures were scant, heroes were plenty, but the pillars of India's extraordinary show in the series were Gill and Siraj.

From BBC

But with most mayors serving just a single three-year term and scant public funds, reform efforts gained no traction.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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