sparing

American  

[spair-ing] / ˈspɛər ɪŋ /

adjective

1. economical (often followed by in orof ).

   Synonyms:

   penurious, saving, frugal

2. lenient or merciful.

3. scanty; limited.

   Synonyms:

   sparse, meager

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sparing British  

/ ˈspɛərɪŋ /

adjective

1. economical or frugal (with)

2. scanty; meagre

3. merciful or lenient

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Other Word Forms

• nonsparing adjective
• oversparing adjective
• oversparingness noun
• sparingly adverb
• sparingness noun

Etymology

Origin of sparing

A Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; spare, -ing ²

Example Sentences

Today, in a supposedly more humane age, the perfect weapon is one that does minimum damage, sparing the innocent by targeting the guilty with maximum precision and surprise.

From The Wall Street Journal

He also said that entry-level, front-line employees might still need to interact with customers, potentially sparing them from being displaced by AI.

From MarketWatch

The law firm said Sir Idris had a clean driving licence and was pleading guilty to the offence, sparing the cost of a trial.

From BBC

He said that CAF explained that it "wanted to protect the referee by sparing him pressure" but that meant that "we could no longer challenge him".

From Barron's

Theoretically, this kind of move could help solve two problems—getting enough power for AI data centers while sparing consumers from the costs at a time when electricity prices are skyrocketing.

From Barron's