as in austere
providing only the essentials and nothing fancy or luxurious
accommodations on the windjammer are spartan but clean and comfortable nevertheless
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Recent Examples of spartan
With ski season only a few weeks away, the Vail Pass rest area reopened to the public on Tuesday with a bigger, better building that replaced a spartan structure built in 1980.
—
John Meyer, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025
That day, a small television in my spartan hotel lobby showed the second tower of the World Trade Center collapse.
—Dr. Tom Frieden, Time, 30 Sep. 2025
And so, the film’s spartan spell is undone by snatches of pedestrian drama and goofy, surreal symbolism.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2025
Roku then picked up the rights for a spartan $10 million—about a third of what Peacock shelled out in each year of its contract.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 24 Sep. 2025
But this new 86-footer, stripped of its predecessors’ bling, is more of a spartan, minimalist explorer, with transatlantic potential.
—Tristan Rutherford, Robb Report, 8 Sep. 2025
Idaho State Police have released hundreds of additional images taken during their investigation into college murderer Bryan Kohberger, giving the first public glimpse of his spartan apartment in Pullman, just across the state line at Washington State University.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Gastón Solnicki’s latest work features a magnetic central performance from Willem Dafoe, it is artfully composed with painterly images, shots of Vienna at sunset are exquisite, and its spartan dialogue possesses a dry wit.
—Leila Latif, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
The training camp in Kazan was no picnic, living in spartan dorm rooms, eating bland food, no one speaking English, grinding away in the gym all day.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
John Meyer, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025
That day, a small television in my spartan hotel lobby showed the second tower of the World Trade Center collapse.
—Dr. Tom Frieden, Time, 30 Sep. 2025
And so, the film’s spartan spell is undone by snatches of pedestrian drama and goofy, surreal symbolism.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2025
Roku then picked up the rights for a spartan $10 million—about a third of what Peacock shelled out in each year of its contract.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 24 Sep. 2025
But this new 86-footer, stripped of its predecessors’ bling, is more of a spartan, minimalist explorer, with transatlantic potential.
—Tristan Rutherford, Robb Report, 8 Sep. 2025
Idaho State Police have released hundreds of additional images taken during their investigation into college murderer Bryan Kohberger, giving the first public glimpse of his spartan apartment in Pullman, just across the state line at Washington State University.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Gastón Solnicki’s latest work features a magnetic central performance from Willem Dafoe, it is artfully composed with painterly images, shots of Vienna at sunset are exquisite, and its spartan dialogue possesses a dry wit.
—Leila Latif, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
The training camp in Kazan was no picnic, living in spartan dorm rooms, eating bland food, no one speaking English, grinding away in the gym all day.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spartan
Adjective
-
In the cold and austere German winter (a far cry from Dakar’s physical and cultural warmth), an anxious Nourou acts up outside a hotel and is accosted by a Polish security guard, setting off a minor chain reaction in which Maja intervenes on his behalf, much to his chagrin.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Director Alexandre Aja, an expert at tight, austere horror films, builds tension with the ruthless efficiency of a sadistic engineer, but Crawl never feels cheap or opportunistic.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Jared Jewelers Bulova Phantom Watch A watch is both practical and fashionable, and this style adds a touch of sparkle to simple outfits.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
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Each year, as the temperature rises, the town’s regular population of around 300 swells with thousands of kids soaking up the simple pleasures of the great outdoors.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Screambox is a budget-friendly service that delivers new and older scary movies on a no-frills platform.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
4 Oct. 2025
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Close out the night by drinking a beer or two with locals at Shagwong Tavern, a no-frills bar in the center of the village that’s been open since 1936.—
Sarah Buder,
AFAR Media,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Wyatt’s pointed use of stark silence to enhance some of the tense moments before battles break out is an effective formal choice that, without the use of slow motion, produces the feeling of time moving differently, making the viewer hyper-aware of what may come.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
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Lake Urmia in western Iran is the starkest instance of ecological destruction.—
Nik Kowsar,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spartan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spartan. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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