as in poorly
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Recent Examples of sparingly
Ciber’s unit has five such machines, used sparingly, and is preparing another, faster robot, capable of covering 10 miles an hour, to carry Kalashnikov small arms into battle.
—
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
Baking soda can sweeten tomatoes and deter pests, but must be used sparingly to avoid harming plants.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 30 May 2026
The show uses voiceover sparingly, which is a real feat given how luminous Margo’s narration is in Rufi Thorpe’s prose.
—Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
While editorial makeup of the 2010s framed blush as something to be used sparingly and softly, Edeme goes all the way in.
—Susan Akyeampong, Allure, 27 May 2026
June was used sparingly this season, but played a large role in the finale.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 27 May 2026
Monk has played sparingly his first two years and faces a make-or-break summer.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Holmes’ also applies this complexion product sparingly and with her fingers.
—Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026
Swinson, a 2025 fifth-round pick, played sparingly last season and spent time on the practice squad.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 19 May 2026
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
Baking soda can sweeten tomatoes and deter pests, but must be used sparingly to avoid harming plants.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 30 May 2026
The show uses voiceover sparingly, which is a real feat given how luminous Margo’s narration is in Rufi Thorpe’s prose.
—Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
While editorial makeup of the 2010s framed blush as something to be used sparingly and softly, Edeme goes all the way in.
—Susan Akyeampong, Allure, 27 May 2026
June was used sparingly this season, but played a large role in the finale.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 27 May 2026
Monk has played sparingly his first two years and faces a make-or-break summer.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Holmes’ also applies this complexion product sparingly and with her fingers.
—Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026
Swinson, a 2025 fifth-round pick, played sparingly last season and spent time on the practice squad.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 19 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sparingly
Adverb
-
Their front office scoffs at prospect rankings, where the Angels rate poorly.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
-
Authorities allege the operation was unsafe and poorly managed.—
Abby Dodge,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
Adverb
-
General Electric was nearly felled the same year by its captive finance arm, which borrowed cheaply against its industrial parent’s rating.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 June 2026
-
The service was also facing the retirement of older, larger ships and was looking for ways to maintain its fleet size with smaller surface combatants that could be built more quickly and cheaply than bigger vessels, the report said.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Adverb
-
The family lived frugally, Ferguson said, since Good’s partner sold a company and didn’t work as Good attended graduate school online.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Perdue has lived a double life—having access to immense privilege and money from two business empires, while holding down a regular job and living frugally.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
24 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
His Senate district runs from the Golden Gate Bridge’s northern end to the Oregon border, taking in Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, Del Norte and Lake counties — some of the state’s most liberal and most conservative, politically, and its richest and poorest, economically.—
Reeti Malhotra,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
-
In this way, the two most powerful leaders in the world, both of whom are pursuing nationalistic economic programs, could be on track to make their respective countries economically weaker.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
3 June 2026
Adverb
-
To this new arena of few big, let alone original, hits; to a place where expensive corporatized storytelling could hold no candle to the quick-turn, inexpensively made short videos young people watched or the quick-turn, inexpensively made long podcasts older people listened to.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Dec. 2025
-
Second, California doesn’t build anything inexpensively and efficiently.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
24 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Maps show the location of the crash is sparely populated and the two-lane road has no street lighting.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
12 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
Limón would like to see the state stop subsidizing corporations who pay so meagerly that their employees qualify for Medi-Cal.—
Anita Chabria,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
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When opportunities arise, whether lowly paid or not, we’re often left with no other choice than to take the role that pays meagerly.—
Robyn Mowatt,
Essence,
1 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
That’s frustrating considering the format has always been thriftily priced.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sparingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sparingly. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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