sparse

adjective

ˈspärs 

sparser; sparsest

: of few and scattered elements

especially : not thickly grown or settled

sparsely adverb

sparseness noun

sparsity

ˈspär-sə-tē 

-stē

noun

Synonyms

• scarce

Choose the Right Synonym for sparse

meager, scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, sparse mean falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable.

meager implies the absence of elements, qualities, or numbers necessary to a thing's richness, substance, or potency.

a meager portion of meat

scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent.

supplies too scanty to last the winter

scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential.

in January the daylight hours are scant

skimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency.

tacky housing developments on skimpy lots

spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity.

a spare, concise style of writing

sparse implies a thin scattering of units.

a sparse population

Examples of sparse in a Sentence

open land is sparse around here

Recent Examples on the Web

The organization provides a space where the sparse number of Indigenous students — perhaps several dozen, according to Langston — can meet with one another. —Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Oct. 2025

For now, Swifties only have the song titles, multiple variant covers, and sparse details shared during the singer’s two-hour long New Heights podcast appearance to shape their understanding of the album. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025

Plan for midmorning, when those ever-present crowds are sparsest. —Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 1 Oct. 2025

The pros and cons of sparse attention An AI model makes decisions based on its training data and new information, such as a prompt. —Tasmin Lockwood, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin sparsus spread out, from past participle of spargere to scatter — more at spark

First Known Use

1753, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sparse

• arse
• carse
• farce
• marse
• parse

Kids Definition

sparse

adjective

ˈspärs 

sparser; sparsest

: of few and scattered elements

especially : not thickly grown or settled

sparsely adverb

sparseness noun

sparsity

ˈspär-sət-ē 

noun