All 6 Uses

scarcity
in
Faust
(Auto-generated)

Man's misery even to pity moves my nature;
I've scarce the heart to plague the wretched creature.†
*

scarce = in short supply OR barely or hardly (by a small margin)
WAGNER
Ah, when one studies thus, a prisoned creature,
That scarce the world on holidays can see,—Scarce through a glass, by rare occasion,
How shall one lead it by persuasion?†
WAGNER
Ah, when one studies thus, a prisoned creature,
That scarce the world on holidays can see,—Scarce through a glass, by rare occasion,
How shall one lead it by persuasion?†
They feel, themselves, their resurrection:
From the low, dark rooms, scarce habitable;
From the bonds of Work, from Trade's restriction;
From the pressing weight of roof and gable;
From the narrow, crushing streets and alleys;
From the churches' solemn and reverend night,
All come forth to the cheerful light.†
MARGARET
I scarce can stand, my knees are trembling!†
She falters on, her way scarce knowing,
As if with fettered feet that stay her going.†

Definitions:

(1) (scarcity)
shortage (having an amount that is less than desired)
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
More rarely (and typically in classic literature), scarce can be short for scarcely or hardly or barely or by a small margin -- such as in "She was scarce ten years old," or "I scarce know why."