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spare

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of spare

1 being over what is needed

  • I had some spare time to kill, so I cleaned up my cubicle a bit
Synonyms of spare

excess, extra, redundant, supererogatory, superfluous, supernumerary, surplus
Words Related to spare

accessory, additional, supplemental, supplementary

de trop, dispensable, extraneous, gratuitous, needless, nonessential, uncalled-for, unessential, unnecessary, unneeded, unwanted

abundant, ample, bountiful, copious, plenteous, plentiful
Near Antonyms of spare

deficient, inadequate, insufficient, meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, scarce, short, shortish, skimpy, sparse

2 giving or sharing as little as possible

  • a man who is kind and gentle but definitely spare of speech
Synonyms of spare

cheap, chintzy, close, closefisted, mean, mingy, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, pinchpenny, sparing, stingy, stinting, tight, tightfisted, uncharitable, ungenerous
Words Related to spare

careful, chary, conserving, economical, economizing, frugal, saving, scrimping, skimping, thrifty

acquisitive, avaricious, avid, coveting, covetous, desirous, grasping, greedy, hoggish, itchy, mercenary, rapacious, selfish, shabby, small, sordid

begrudging, envious, grudging, resentful

inhospitable
Near Antonyms of spare

altruistic, selfless, unselfish

extravagant, free, handsome, lavish, overgenerous, profuse

beneficent, benevolent, hospitable, humanitarian, philanthropic (also philanthropical)

compassionate, good-hearted, greathearted, kindly, magnanimous, openhearted

thriftless, unthrifty

dissipating, frittering, prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, splurging, squandering, wasteful, wasting
Antonyms of spare

bounteous, bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unsparing, unstinting

3 having a noticeably small amount of body fat

  • a tall, spare man
Synonyms of spare

bony (also boney), fatless, lean, lithe, skinny, slender, slim, svelte, thin
Words Related to spare

clean-limbed, trim

sylphlike, willowy

angular, rawboned, scraggy, scrawny, sinewy, wiry

lank, lanky, rangy, reedy, spindling, spindly, stringy, twiggy, waspish, weedy

anorectic (also anoretic), anorexic, cadaverous, emaciated, gaunt, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted, wizened

meager (or meagre), puny, slight
Near Antonyms of spare

beefy, bulky, chunky, fleshy, heavy, heavyset, stocky, stout, thick, thickset, weighty

brawny, burly, husky

dumpy, pudgy, roly-poly, squat, stubby

paunchy, potbellied

flabby, soft

buxom, zaftig (also zoftig)

full, hippy, round
Antonyms of spare

chubby, corpulent, fat, gross, obese, overweight, plump, portly, rotund, tubby

4 less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable

  • spare vegetation that made foraging very difficult
Synonyms of spare

exiguous, hand-to-mouth, light, meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, scarce, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, sparing, sparse, stingy
Words Related to spare

deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, short, wanting

bare, bare-bones

least, littlest, lowest, mere, minimal, slightest

slight, small, thin

barren, infertile, sterile, unfruitful, unproductive
Phrases Synonymous with spare

thin on the ground
Near Antonyms of spare

adequate, enough, satisfactory, sufficient, tolerable

fat, fecund, fertile, fruitful, prolific, rich

lavish, luxuriant

blooming, bursting, flourishing, proliferative, swarming, teeming, thriving

excess, extra, surplus
Antonyms of spare

abundant, ample, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful

Synonym Discussion of spare

lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh. lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.
    • a lean racehorse
spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.
    • the gymnast's spare figure
lank implies tallness as well as leanness.
    • the lank legs of the heron
lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.
    • a lanky youth, all arms and legs
gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.
    • a prisoner's gaunt face
rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.
    • a rawboned farmer
scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.
    • a scrawny chicken
    • skinny street urchins

spare

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of spare

an interchangeable part or piece of equipment that is kept on hand for replacement of an original

  • we promptly replaced the burnt-out lightbulb with a spare
Synonyms of spare

extra, reserve
Words Related to spare

backup, substitute

stock

carbon copy, clone, copy, double, dummy, dupe, duplicate, replacement, replica, replication, reproduction
Near Antonyms of spare

archetype, original, prototype

spare

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of spare

1 to use or give out in stingy amounts

  • Iʼll have a banana split—and donʼt spare the whipped cream
Synonyms of spare

nurse, scant, skimp (on), stint (on)
Words Related to spare

dole out, mete (out), portion (out), ration (out)

pinch, shortchange

conserve, preserve
Near Antonyms of spare

heap, lavish, pour, rain, shower

2 to avoid unnecessary waste or expense

  • she had grown up during the Great Depression, so she was no stranger to sparing
Synonyms of spare

economize, pinch, save, scrimp, skimp
Words Related to spare

conserve, husband, maintain, manage, preserve

scrape

cut back, cut down, retrench

hoard, lay up
Phrases Synonymous with spare

pinch pennies
Near Antonyms of spare

blow, dissipate, fritter (away), lavish, misspend, run through, spend, squander, throw away

splurge
Antonyms of spare

waste

Learn More about spare

  1. Dictionary: Definition of spare Spanish Central: Translation of spare Nglish: Translation of spare for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of spare for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about spare

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