1
as in preserved
to use or give out in stingy amounts
I'll have a banana split—and don't spare the whipped cream
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in saved
to avoid unnecessary waste or expense
she had grown up during the Great Depression, so she was no stranger to sparing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spared
He did get spared a blown save by Jo Adell robbing his third home run of the game on April 4.
—
Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
Angelica Pacheco, a former Hialeah city councilwoman, was spared a prison term on Thursday after pleading guilty to falsifying information on her addiction treatment center’s emergency loan application to the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
Merrill also spared Michael King of a home run here during the second game of the season, but Stammen believed this one trumped it.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
Isak sent a header straight at goalkeeper Matvei Safonov early on before failing to convert a chance created by Ryan Gravenberch when his blushes were spared by the offside flag after mistiming his run.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2026
New Bern’s status as a port hub helped bring Northern forces to town in 1862, which likely spared it from their general’s scorched‑earth march across North Carolina a few years later.
—Ryan Wilusz, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Iraq was partially spared, yet is divided in its support.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026
The case now goes to a hearing scheduled for June 1, where his attorneys will be allowed to argue his life be spared before Munyon formally sentences him.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026
Those units, for now, have been spared from the bulk of the cuts.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
Angelica Pacheco, a former Hialeah city councilwoman, was spared a prison term on Thursday after pleading guilty to falsifying information on her addiction treatment center’s emergency loan application to the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
Merrill also spared Michael King of a home run here during the second game of the season, but Stammen believed this one trumped it.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
Isak sent a header straight at goalkeeper Matvei Safonov early on before failing to convert a chance created by Ryan Gravenberch when his blushes were spared by the offside flag after mistiming his run.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2026
New Bern’s status as a port hub helped bring Northern forces to town in 1862, which likely spared it from their general’s scorched‑earth march across North Carolina a few years later.
—Ryan Wilusz, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Iraq was partially spared, yet is divided in its support.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026
The case now goes to a hearing scheduled for June 1, where his attorneys will be allowed to argue his life be spared before Munyon formally sentences him.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026
Those units, for now, have been spared from the bulk of the cuts.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spared
Verb
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More affordable housing is set to be preserved in Charlotte, thanks to a local fund that has almost doubled its spending ability fueled by private sector investments.—
Desiree Mathurin
April 24,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Apr. 2026
-
While many of the building’s original features—including the soaring stucco ceilings decorated with a sun motif - have been preserved, the look and feel are more 21st-century magpie than slavish historical reverence.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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So far, the Oakland Zoo has saved 33 mountain lions, part of a broader shift among accredited zoos toward rescue and rehabilitation over traditional exhibitions.—
Itay Hod,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Zar took issue with those findings, saying access to water often made the difference for homes that were saved and those that were lost.—
Sandra McDonald,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As part of conservation efforts in the 1980s and 90s, more than 800 otters were released in Missouri and waterways were conserved.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
21 Apr. 2026
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Some myosin classes, such as I and II, are widely conserved across many organisms, whereas others are more specialized and restricted to particular lineages—for example, certain classes are found mainly in animals and others in plants.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spared. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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