# scarce vs sparse

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### scarce
*adjective · IPA /ˈskɛəs/ · frequency rank #12,856*
Uncommon, rare; difficult to find; insufficient to meet a demand.

### sparse
*adjective · IPA /spɑːs/ · frequency rank #18,193*
Having widely spaced intervals.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scarce-vs-sparse