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.
Sparsely populated, Greenland's location between North America and the Arctic makes it ideally placed for missile early warning systems and for monitoring vessels in the region.
From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026
Sparsely vaccinated Ottawa County, Okla., in the state’s the far northeast corner, has reported Oklahoma’s largest per capita case increase and a 23 percent test positivity rate that suggests the true toll is even higher.
From Washington Post • Jul. 3, 2021
Sparsely populated and largely free of light pollution, the valley lays claim to more than a dozen spiritual centers, a U.F.O. watchtower and a roadside attraction called the Colorado Gators Reptile Park.
From New York Times • May 5, 2016
Sparsely populated and with little in the way of industry, Goulburn Island is comprised largely of marshlands harboring an abundance of wildlife including crocodiles, fish, dugong, and turtles.
From Reuters • Mar. 23, 2015
Sparsely settled regions always practice extensive cultivation, raising light crops on big farms, because only such crops can be grown as can be raised on large areas by machinery, and are not perishable.
From Three Acres and Liberty by Hall, Bolton
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.
