scant

[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.
3.
barely amounting to as much as indicated:
a scant two hours; a scant cupful.
4.
having an inadequate or limited supply (usually followed by of):
scant of breath.
verb (used with object)
5.
to make scant; diminish.
6.
to stint the supply of; withhold.
7.
to treat slightly or inadequately.
adverb
8.
Scot. and North England Dialect. scarcely; barely; hardly.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English (adj.) < Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr short
Related forms
scantly, adverb
scantness, noun
Synonyms
2. scanty, small, restricted. 4. short, lacking, wanting, deficient. 5. lessen, reduce, decrease, curtail. 6. limit, restrict, skimp, scrimp. 7. slight, neglect.
Examples from the web for scant
  • Yet, in stark contrast to other modern expansions, there are scant signs of serious wage or price pressure.
  • They postulate that there was an extended period of evolutionary progression that left behind a scant fossil record.
  • But there was scant evidence for how it was prepared and handled.
  • But scant few transcend such barriers to become works of art.
  • It was scant consolation that the struggle wasn't real.
  • Until now, conservationists had scant data on where these non-breeding birds foraged.
  • In scant milliseconds, the brain coordinates our speech apparatus so that it makes all the appropriate sounds.
  • The fossil evidence has been too scant to settle the matter.
  • Even the scant good news in the report is tempered by a downside.
  • But the digital printers used commercially bear scant resemblance to the devices used at home.
British Dictionary definitions for scant

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.
(postpositive) foll by of. having a short supply (of)
verb (transitive)
4.
to limit in size or quantity
5.
to provide with a limited or inadequate supply of
6.
to treat in a slighting or inadequate manner
adverb
7.
scarcely; barely
Derived Forms
scantly, adverb
scantness, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Old Norse skamt, from skammr/short; related to Old High German scam
Word Origin and History for scant
adj.

mid-14c., from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr "short, brief"), from Proto-Germanic *skamma- (cf. Old English scamm "short," Old High German skemmen "to shorten"), perhaps ultimately "hornless," from PIE *kem- (see hind (n.)). Also in Middle English as a noun, "scant supply, scarcity," from Old Norse. As a verb and adverb from mid-15c.