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View synonyms for sparsity

sparsity

[ spahr-si-tee ]

noun

  1. the fact or condition of being thinly scattered or distributed and not thick or dense:

    The size of these rural counties and the sparsity of their populations make it more costly to administer social services.

  2. the fact or quality of being small in amount or number; scantiness:

    Not only is there a sparsity of rainfall in extremely arid deserts, but high evaporation rates soon remove whatever moisture it provides.



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Other Words From

  • un·sparse·ness noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of sparsity1

First recorded in 1860–65; spars(e) ( def ) + -ity ( def )

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Example Sentences

To maximize the value of sparse funding for expensive projects, planners never build the same instrument twice.

Some branches saw an abundance of species form, while others remained sparse.

Earth’s gravity still has a little pull here, but just enough to keep most of the sparse air molecules from drifting away.

That’s what I’ve been thinking recently, and especially during our eerily sparse Thanksgiving celebrations.

In comparison, Su notes, details about the farside have been sparse.

One of the prime difficulties is in the sparsity and uneven distribution of the cow population.

She preferred cleanly poverty and honest sparsity to luxury on credit.

What was most extraordinary was the sparsity and lowness of the trees and bushes, the fineness of the growth.

The sparsity of the population, the extent of the country, and its poverty, made a royal establishment impossible.

Only vast Madagascar, continental in size, repeats the sparsity of the continent.

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sparselySparta