scarce
adjective
1. uncommon, rare; difficult to find; insufficient to meet a demand.
- fresh vegetables were scarce during the drought
Similar word(s): rare, tight, meager, meagerly, meagre, scrimpy, stingy
adverb
1. only a very short time before
- had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open
- would have scarce arrived before she would have found some excuse to leave
Similar word(s): barely, hardly, just, scarcely
2. almost not
- he was scarce sixteen years old
- they scarcely ever used the emergency generator