sparsely
Americanadverb
-
in a thinly distributed way; not thickly or densely.
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is very sparsely populated, as more than 90% of it is forested.
-
in a scanty or meager way.
It was a large kitchen, but very sparsely equipped for cooking.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sparsely
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.
Highland Council said its region, which has large, sparsely populated areas, offered stargazers some of the darkest skies in Europe.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
Located in the South Pacific roughly halfway between New Zealand and Peru, the islands are one of the most remote and sparsely populated places on Earth.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
The western desert region of Iraq is vast and sparsely populated, making it an ideal location for temporary outposts, Knights said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
In the sparsely populated Kuiper Belt, these distant bodies drift with relatively few collisions, allowing fragile structures to survive.
From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026
I had assumed that the Pacific, but for passing schools of fish, was a sparsely inhabited waste of water.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
