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Synonyms

unsparing

American  
[uhn-spair-ing] / ʌnˈspɛər ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. not sparing; sparing; liberal or profuse; excessive.

    Synonyms:
    bountiful, lavish, generous

  2. unmerciful; harsh; severe.

    Synonyms:
    relentless, unrelenting, merciless
unsparing British  
/ ʌnˈspɛərɪŋ /

adjective

  1. not sparing or frugal; lavish; profuse

  2. showing harshness or severity; unmerciful

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • unsparingly adverb
  • unsparingness noun

Etymology

Origin of unsparing

First recorded in 1580–90; un- 1 + sparing

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.

“This Is Where the Serpent Lives” has that kind of ambition and captures its world in the same exhilarating and unsparing way.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Because these portrayals are so acute and unsparing, Jhabvala is sometimes described as a satirist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

Sudden, unsparing and almost startling in its intensity, he unburdened himself.

From BBC • Oct. 27, 2025

Foster was more unsparing in his estimation of how much work was left to do.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2025

We could no longer detect the city, the night was so black, so full of water and motion, so unsparing was the drench.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

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.