sparse

adjective

ˈspärs 

sparser; sparsest

: of few and scattered elements

especially : not thickly grown or settled

sparsely adverb

sparseness noun

sparsity

ˈspär-sə-tē 

-stē

noun

Synonyms

• exiguous
• hand-to-mouth
• light
• meager
• meagre
• niggardly
• poor
• scant
• scanty
• scarce
• skimp
• skimpy
• slender
• slim
• spare
• sparing
• stingy

Choose the Right Synonym for sparse

meager, scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, sparse mean falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable.

meager implies the absence of elements, qualities, or numbers necessary to a thing's richness, substance, or potency.

a meager portion of meat

scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent.

supplies too scanty to last the winter

scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential.

in January the daylight hours are scant

skimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency.

tacky housing developments on skimpy lots

spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity.

a spare, concise style of writing

sparse implies a thin scattering of units.

a sparse population

Examples of sparse in a Sentence

open land is sparse around here

Recent Examples on the Web

His words, though often sparse and cryptic, usually mattered more than those of his counterparts, fueling a political mystique of infallibility. —Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2025

His characteristically sparse prose only makes this portrait of a necrophiliac serial killer haunting the hill country of eastern Tennessee that much more disturbing: Lester Ballard makes Norman Bates look like Beaver Cleaver. —M.l. Rio, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025

Living in rural areas, with their relatively sparse populations, often means a shortage of doctors, longer travel distances for medical care and inadequate investments in public health, driven partly by declines in economic opportunities. —Bryan Tysinger, The Conversation, 11 Feb. 2025

Physical evidence of animal remains is sparse in the cave, so researchers turned to sedimentary ancient DNA from dirt to supplement their studies. —Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin sparsus spread out, from past participle of spargere to scatter — more at spark

First Known Use

1753, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

sparse

adjective

ˈspärs 

sparser; sparsest

: of few and scattered elements

especially : not thickly grown or settled

sparsely adverb

sparseness noun

sparsity

ˈspär-sət-ē 

noun