adjective
Synonym Usage
See scanty.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sparse
First recorded in 1715–25; from Latin sparsus, past participle of spargere “to scatter,” see sparge
Explanation
Something that’s sparse is thin, not dense. If you’re looking for the perfect place to build a tree house, a sparse forest is probably not your best bet. From the Latin sparsus, meaning “scattered,” we get the adjective sparse, which means “few and scattered.” Thinning hair is sparse, as is the population of an endangered species. Or a small and scattered crowd for an unpopular band. Synonyms include dispersed, infrequent, and scanty. Antonyms, on the other hand, include full, lush, and plentiful.
Vocabulary lists containing sparse
List 1
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Where the Red Fern Grows
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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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.
See Examples For:
Relying on such speculative and grandiose maxims—supported by a sparse and often inconsistent scientific literature—to inform what we eat is, Mr. Lieberman writes, like “playing a game of dice.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Compared to other quick-service competitors, who are increasingly offering labyrinthine menus with new products rolled out seasonally and limited runs of nostalgia items, Cane’s menu feels sparse, with a sort of Steve Jobs Apple-era minimalism.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Initial discussions circled around whether the former politician was in fact the one who had caused the accident, and why authorities had only released sparse information.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Soccer Federation backed in a sparse post on X.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
As if looking through his eyes, she perceived her own withered skin, her sparse gray hair, the awkward gait with which she moved.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
The path of totality of the Aug. 12 solar eclipse will sweep across much of Spain, but Basque Country, in the north, is our pick for sparser crowds and plenty to do.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
However, Williams said, there are important differences between regions where fires erupt in forests with abundant vegetation fuel and regions like Southern California, where fires often burn through sparser shrubs and grasses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2025
Since then, not much is known of her personal life and her film appearances have grown sparser.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2024
While experts had previously speculated that Gigantopithecus was driven to extinction as their preferred forest habitats became sparser, the known fossils of the ape lacked defined dates to test the idea.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 10, 2024
They wander, as we do, searching for facts to fit their sparser stock of hypotheses, but when the receptor meets its match, there is only a single thud.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
In this case, the error is making a call based on the sparsest of evidence.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 15, 2021
There is the couple with two daughters, known until recently by only the sparsest of details: They’d moved into the big house that replaced the old house that was razed after its original owner died.
From New York Times ● May 1, 2020
Turnouts for elections in 2014, 2015 and 2016 ranked among the sparsest in Indiana and broke local records for all-time lows.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 23, 2018
That said, the rest of the freestyle – which lasts nearly eight minutes, set to the sparsest of backings – has little or nothing to do with Trump.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 20, 2016
It’s the sparsest bed I’ve ever seen: small and pale yellow with a sheet, a topsheet, and one pillow.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
