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
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.
The road passes through a sparsely populated area of farms, forests and lochs.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
The new EU investments include a project to boost satellites and improve internet access in remote areas of the sparsely populated island, and two mining projects to secure critical raw materials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
These differences made sense given that the environment they live in has much smaller, more sparsely distributed prey than other leopard habitats.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
A day later Pulisic walked across a stage overlooking the East River to cheers during a sparsely attended rally in which the U.S. roster for this summer’s World Cup was announced.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
A one-room schoolhouse sided with cedar shingles stood among pines on a flat piece of land above the camp, but there were few children, and the school was sparsely and irregularly attended.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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