spared
Americanadjective
-
left intact; not damaged, punished, destroyed, killed, etc..
After a seven-month siege they captured the city, and the spared captives were taken into exile.
After a brain injury in early childhood, language function is typically transferred to the spared hemisphere.
-
dispensed with or done without.
I finally obtained a little ready money by converting some easily spared articles of jewelry into cash.
-
used frugally or not used; withheld; not spent.
At no spared effort or expense, the enhanced design protocol has been applied to all the products in our new lineup.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spared
First recorded in 1575–85; spare ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; spare ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb sense
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I had invited them into my apartment expecting an awkward demonstration, but the work was remarkably thorough and spared me from having to do it myself.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
“No expense is going to be spared fighting this case, and it will be fought by some very talented and well-resourced people.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Even if private creditors were spared, rating agencies might consider cancellation of central bank holdings a “selective default.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
President Donald Trump in April re-posted a claim on X by a pro-Israel youth activist in the United States that eight women faced death by hanging, with the US leader urging them to be spared.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Could it be that somewhere beyond there are more valleys like this, other places that have been spared?
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
