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Scant vs Dearth - What's the difference?

scant | dearth |

As nouns the difference between scant and dearth

is that scant is a block of stone sawn on two sides down to the bed level while dearth is a period or condition when food is rare and hence expensive; famine.

As an adjective scant

is very little, very few.

As a verb scant

is to limit in amount or share; to stint.

As an adverb scant

is with difficulty; scarcely; hardly.

scant

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Very little, very few.
  • "After his previous escapades, Mary had scant reason to believe John."
  • Not full, large, or plentiful; scarcely sufficient; scanty; meager; not enough.
  • a scant''' allowance of provisions or water; a '''scant pattern of cloth for a garment
  • * Ridley
  • His sermon was scant , in all, a quarter of an hour.
  • Sparing; parsimonious; chary.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence.

    Synonyms

    * few, little, slight * (l)

    Antonyms

    * ample, plenty

    Derived terms

    * scanty

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To limit in amount or share; to stint.
  • to scant''' someone in provisions; to '''scant ourselves in the use of necessaries
  • * Shakespeare
  • Scant not my cups.
  • * Francis Bacon
  • where man hath a great living laid together and where he is scanted
  • * Dryden
  • I am scanted in the pleasure of dwelling on your actions.
  • To fail, or become less; to scantle.
  • The wind scants .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (masonry) A block of stone sawn on two sides down to the bed level.
  • (masonry) A sheet of stone.
  • (wood) A slightly thinner measurement of a standard wood size.
  • Adverb

    (-)
  • With difficulty; scarcely; hardly.
  • * Fuller
  • So weak that he was scant able to go down the stairs.
    (Francis Bacon)

    Anagrams

    * *

    dearth

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (rfc-sense) A period or condition when food is rare and hence expensive; famine.
  • (by extension) Scarcity; a lack or short supply.
  • * 1608 , William Shakespeare, King Lear :
  • I promise you, the effects he writes of succeed unhappily: as of unnaturalness between the child and the parent; death, dearth , dissolutions of ancient amities; divisions in state, menaces and maledictions against king and nobles; needless diffidences, banishment of friends, dissipation of cohorts, nuptial breaches, and I know not what.
  • *
  • (obsolete) Dearness; the quality of being rare or costly.
  • *
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  • Synonyms

    * (period when food is rare) famine, shortage * (scarcity) paucity, scarcity

    Anagrams

    * * *