scanty

I

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. scarce, scant, meager, sparse, barely sufficient, insufficient, inadequate, spare, few, pinched, little, small, bare, slender, narrow, thin, scrimp, scrimpy, tiny, diminutive, short, stingy, in short supply, skimpy*, measly*; see also inadequate 1 .

Ant. plentiful, ample, large.

Syn.- scanty implies an inadequacy in amount, number, quantity, etc. of something essential [ a scanty supply of paper ] ; scant is applied to a barely sufficient amount or a stinted quantity [ the scant attendance at the concert ] ; spare implies less than a sufficient amount but may connote simply lack of abundance or excess rather than hardship [ to live on spare rations ] ; sparse applies to a scanty quantity that is thinly distributed over a wide area [ his sparse hair ] ; meager implies thinness or insufficiency and connotes a lack of that which gives something richness, vigor, strength, fullness, etc. [meager cultural resources ]

II

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective Conspicuously deficient in quantity, fullness, or extent: exiguous, meager, poor, puny, scant, skimpy, spare, sparse, stingy, thin. Slang: measly. See BIG, EXCESS.