The Animated LexiconTOEFL & IELTS · Est. 2026No. 0297

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is wrong.

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Word of the day · adjective

scarce
Animated scene
Fig. 1 — Units of something appear in waves, and seekers come for them.

Existing in too small a quantity for the demand; hard to get. Scarce measures a ratio, not an amount: something is scarce when the wanting outruns the having.

Today’s issue ↓
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In this issue

  1. 01Word of the dayscarce
  2. 02Synonymsscarce vs sparse
  3. 03Antonymsprevalent vs scarce
  4. 04Confusing wordsfigure vs number
  5. 05The index373 words, A–Z
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Compared, this issue

01Synonyms

scarce vs sparse

Fig. 1a — scarce.
Fig. 1b — sparse.

Scarce and sparse both report 'not much', measuring different things.

The full comparison →
02Antonyms

prevalent vs scarce

Fig. 2a — prevalent.
Fig. 2b — scarce.

Prevalent means widespread and common.

The full comparison →
03Confusing words

figure vs number

Fig. 3a — figure.
Fig. 3b — number.

Figure and number overlap but are not the same.

The full comparison →
lexicow — An Animated Word a Day for TOEFL & IELTS