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

Berrios, Cracraft and Dubose were sparse contributors last season because of injuries and the fact Malik Washington emerged as Miami’s slot receiver and primary returner. —Omar Kelly july 11, Miami Herald, 11 July 2025

At a tournament where much of the focus has been on sparse attendances, Madrid have got bigger crowds than anyone, drawing an average of 67,247. —James Horncastle, New York Times, 9 July 2025

Residents remain sparse, but AdventHealth is planting the flag for a larger hospital campus with an emergency room on the first floor of an 88,000-square-foot facility costing $81 million. —Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 5 July 2025

Lots of seats remained open July 3t, and the standing-room-only crowd also was pretty sparse — at least compared to the 2025 festival's first two weekends. —jsonline.com, 4 July 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