sparing
[spair-ing]
- economical (often followed by in or of).
- lenient or merciful.
- scanty; limited.
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Origin of sparing
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
easily, delicately, casually, tenderly, moderately, gingerly, softly, simply, mildly, freely, quietly, slightly, sparsely, faintly, subtly, occasionally, intermittently, sporadically, rarely, sparinglyExamples from the Web for sparingly
Contemporary Examples
Here and there, sparingly, one of the dolls might be purple or green: “Rainbow Piets,” they call them.
Gradually and sparingly add water while stirring the tahini quickly with a fork.
Although I feed as sparingly as possible, their numbers continue to diminish.
Historical Examples
Not until I had learnt to do this was I given back my joys, and then sparingly.
The Golden FountainLilian Staveley
This method is only sparingly permissible with an adequate textbook.
College TeachingPaul Klapper
Pray let me have your judgment—not sparingly, but in all candour.
Even the writings of the living are sparingly admitted here.
Jewels are worn but sparingly by young women in their first season in society.
The Etiquette of To-dayEdith B. Ordway
sparing
- (sometimes foll by with or of) economical or frugal (with)
- scanty; meagre
- merciful or lenient
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sparingly
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper