scant C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /skænt/ UK /skænt/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj barely sufficient or limited in quantity They paid scant attention to the warning signs. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · barely sufficient or... meagerscantysparseinsufficientlimitedpaltryminimal ↔ Opposites ampleabundantplentifulgenerous Word family Derived forms scantlyscantyscantness Related forms scantyscantling Etymology AI details From Old Norse skamt, the neuter of skammr ('short, brief'), of Proto-Germanic origin. skamt Old Norse *skammaz Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # scant **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /skænt/ **IPA (UK):** /skænt/ ## Meanings 1. barely sufficient or limited in quantity ## Examples - They paid scant attention to the warning signs. ## Synonyms - meager - scanty - sparse - insufficient - limited - paltry - minimal ## Antonyms - ample - abundant - plentiful - generous ## Derived Forms - scantly - scanty - scantness ## Related Forms - scanty - scantling ## Roots and Affixes - Root: skamt - Root: *skammaz ## Etymology From Old Norse skamt, the neuter of skammr ('short, brief'), of Proto-Germanic origin. ## AI Etymology Scant comes from Old Norse skamt, the neuter of skammr ('short, brief'), of Proto-Germanic origin. The historical chain includes Old Norse skamt and Proto-Germanic *skammaz. The quoted older sense, "short, brief," supplies the immediate semantic anchor for scant. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word scant carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "barely sufficient or limited in quantity". English derivatives include scantly, scanty, and scantness; related English forms include scanty and scantling. The result is a adj and verb whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization. ## Topics - Describing Qualities markdown