scanty

[skan-tee] /ˈskæn ti/
adjective, scantier, scantiest.
1.
scant in amount, quantity, etc.; barely sufficient.
2.
meager; not adequate.
3.
lacking amplitude in extent or compass.
noun, plural scanties.
4.
scanties, very brief underpants, especially for women.
Origin
1650-60; scant + -y1; (def 4) blend of scanty and panties
Related forms
scantily, adverb
scantiness, noun
unscanty, adjective
Synonyms
1, 2. Scanty, meager, sparse refer to insufficiency or deficiency in quantity, number, etc. Scanty denotes smallness or insufficiency of quantity, number, supply, etc.: a scanty supply of food. Meager indicates that something is poor, stinted, or inadequate: meager fare; a meager income. Sparse applies particularly to that which grows thinly or is thinly strewn or sown, often over a wide area: sparse vegetation; a sparse population.
Antonyms
1, 2. plentiful, ample.
Examples from the web for scanty
  • The trigger for this year's drought was last year's scanty monsoon.
  • We marched into the mansion's courtyard, paid off the donkey driver, and collapsed beside our scanty possessions.
  • scanty foliage is silvery green add to my plant list.
  • These appear when sunlight strikes tiny particles too scanty to appear as clouds.
  • Evidence for what exactly happened and why is scanty and needs careful weighing.
  • In the early part of the year there were indications that pointed to a scanty supply of fish.
  • He was petulant, false and possessed of but a scanty stock of brains.
  • On the knotty but crucial question of how to reduce deforestation and the emissions it causes, progress was scanty.
  • So despite its rather scanty record, the ruling coalition is popular at home and abroad.
  • But on the thorniest issues, the specifics are a little scanty.
British Dictionary definitions for scanty

scanty

/ˈskæntɪ/
adjective scantier, scantiest
1.
limited; barely enough; meagre
2.
insufficient; inadequate
3.
lacking fullness; small
Derived Forms
scantily, adverb
scantiness, noun
Word Origin and History for scanty
adj.

1650s, "meager, barely sufficient for use;" 1701, "too small, limited in scope," from scant + -y (2). Related: Scantiness (1560s). Scanties (n.) "underwear" (especially for women) attested from 1928.