scarce
/skeəs/ (bre, ipa) · /skers/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈskers/ (ame, mw)
scarce — 形容詞
1. A scarce resource or item exists or is obtainable only in very small numbers rel
稀缺；匱乏
供應不足，難以獲得
A scarce resource or item exists or is obtainable only in very small numbers relative to need, so that there is far less of it than most people would want.
Fresh water became scarce in the village after three months without rain.
連續三個月沒下雨，村裡的淡水變得稀缺。
become + scarce (linking verb + adjective)
During the war, basic medicines were so scarce that doctors had to reuse needles.
戰爭期間基本藥物極度匱乏，醫生只能重複使用針頭。
so + scarce + that-clause
Chidi searched every bookstore in town for the textbook, but it was scarce.
Chidi 找遍了城裡的書店想買那本教科書，但到處都缺貨。
Parking spaces are scarce near the train station, so most residents walk or cycle.
火車站附近的停車位非常有限，所以大多數居民走路或騎腳踏車。
The museum owned only two authentic Ming vases because genuine pieces this old are scarce.
博物館只有兩件真正的明代花瓶，因為像這麼古老的真品非常稀有。
- rare
Rare emphasises infrequency or unusualness; scarce focuses on insufficient supply relative to demand. A rare stamp is hard to find because few exist; a scarce medicine is hard to obtain because demand exceeds supply.
- limited
Limited is a broader term that can mean restricted by policy, rules, or capacity. Scarce implies a more natural or systemic shortage and usually carries a stronger sense of urgency.
- insufficient
Insufficient stresses that the amount is not enough for a specific purpose. Scarce focuses on general availability rather than adequacy for a particular goal.
- sparse
Sparse describes thin distribution over an area — e.g. sparse hair, sparse population. Scarce refers to total quantity, not how spread out something is.
文法句型
be + scarce
become / grow / run + scarce
scarce + noun (formal)
用法筆記
Frequently used predicatively after a linking verb (be, become, grow, run). Attributive use before a noun — e.g., 'scarce resources' — is more common in formal writing than in everyday speech.
常見錯誤
scarce — 副詞
1. Almost not or only just; used especially in formal, literary, or poetic English
幾乎不；勉強
用於文學或正式語體，表示幾乎沒有
Almost not or only just; used especially in formal, literary, or poetic English before a verb to indicate that something happens to an extremely small degree or does not happen at all.
I scarce believed my eyes when the letter from the queen arrived.
女王來信送達時，我幾乎不敢相信自己的眼睛。
literary register: scarce + verb (scarce believed)
After the long illness the old man could scarce speak above a whisper.
久病之後，那位老人幾乎連低聲說話都辦不到。
could + scarce + verb
The novelist's first book sold scarce more than two hundred copies in its first year.
那位小說家的第一本書在第一年幾乎只賣出兩百多本。
Henrik scarce had time to thank his rescuer before the boat disappeared into the fog.
那艘船消失在霧中前，Henrik 幾乎來不及向救命恩人道謝。
The mountain village of Luca's childhood was scarce more than a cluster of stone houses.
Luca 童年居住的山村幾乎只是幾間石屋聚集而成的小聚落。
- scarcely
Scarcely is the modern, all-register equivalent of the adverb scarce. Use scarcely in everyday writing and speech; reserve scarce for literary effect.
- hardly
Hardly is the most common everyday word for 'almost not.' It is neutral in register and interchangeable with scarcely in most contexts.
- barely
Barely emphasises that something exists only just above zero — 'barely enough', 'barely visible.' It carries a stronger sense of exact measurement at the lower limit.
文法句型
scarce + verb
could + scarce + verb
had + scarce + past participle
用法筆記
In modern everyday English, the adverb hardly or scarcely is used instead of scarce in this sense. The adverbial form scarce is now restricted to literary, poetic, or deliberately formal writing and may sound old-fashioned in ordinary conversation.