sparing

1 careful in the management of money or resources a sparing couple who are trying to save up enough for a house Synonyms economical, economizing, provident, scrimping, frugal, thriftyRelated Words conserving, preserving, saving; forehanded, foresighted, foresightful, prudent; penny-wise; cheap, close, closefisted, mean, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, spare, stingy, stinting, tight, tightfistedNear Antonyms improvident, shortsighted; bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unselfish, unsparing; extravagant, indulgent, lavishAntonyms prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, squandering, thriftless, unthrifty, wasteful

2 giving or sharing as little as possible a government agency that has always been sparing of public information Synonyms cheap, chintzy, close, closefisted, mean, mingy, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, pinchpenny, spare, stingy, stinting, tight, tightfisted, uncharitable, ungenerousRelated Words 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; inhospitableNear Antonyms 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, wastingAntonyms bounteous, bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unsparing, unstinting

3 less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable unfortunately, the explanation of the health insurance plan was somewhat sparing on details Synonyms exiguous, hand-to-mouth, light, niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, scarce, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, meager, sparse, stingyRelated Words deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, short, wanting; bare, bare-bones; least, littlest, lowest, mere, minimal, slightest; slight, small, thin; barren, infertile, sterile, unfruitful, unproductiveNear Antonyms adequate, enough, satisfactory, sufficient, tolerable; fat, fecund, fertile, fruitful, prolific, rich; lavish, luxuriant; blooming, bursting, flourishing, proliferative, swarming, teeming, thriving; excess, extra, surplusAntonyms abundant, ample, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful