C1
rare vs scarce vs scarcely vs sparse
The difference
| Word | Meaning | Goes with | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| rareadjective/rer/ | Meaning not happening or seen very often; also used for meat cooked only a little | Goes with rare disease | Example It's rare to see snow in this part of the country. |
| scarceadjective/skers/ | Meaning not available in large enough amounts; hard to find | Goes with increasingly scarce | Example Fresh water is scarce in many parts of the desert. |
| scarcelyadverb/ˈskers.li/ | Meaning almost not at all, or only just | Goes with scarcely believe | Example I could scarcely believe the news when she told me. |
| sparseadjective/spɑːrs/ | Meaning present in small numbers or amounts and spread far apart | Goes with sparse population | Example The population is sparse in the northern part of the country. |
Which word fits?
1 of 8Pick the word for the gap. Its form may change in the sentence.
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