as in poorly
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Recent Examples of sparingly
The 6-5, 245-pounder played sparingly as a freshman at Penn State, transferred to Louisville but didn’t play and then spent the past two years at Western Michigan.
—
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
Book of Love went on hiatus after 1993’s Lovebubble, and have only sparingly reunited for reunion shows and a few tracks here and there since.
—Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 26 Apr. 2026
Echoing the Fairmont Golden Prague’s brutalist architecture, bedrooms use color sparingly but draw deep on texture and pattern, with geometric fabrics on cushions and carpet, and bathrooms carved from warm stone—a white tub taking pride of place.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Used sparingly, Brazil nuts can add flavor and nutrients to meals like burritos, pancakes, or banana bread.
—Abby Norman, Verywell Health, 21 Apr. 2026
Path tracing, a more realistic form of ray tracing, has been used by some games since, but its high demands mean it's still used sparingly.
—Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 20 Apr. 2026
Groves, who has three years of eligibility remaining, played sparingly for a good Red Raiders team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament last month.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2026
They were also pruned sparingly, if at all, since pruning shortens the life of a birch.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
Anderson was with Hafley and Sullivan in Green Bay as a special teams contributor who played sparingly on defense.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
Book of Love went on hiatus after 1993’s Lovebubble, and have only sparingly reunited for reunion shows and a few tracks here and there since.
—Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 26 Apr. 2026
Echoing the Fairmont Golden Prague’s brutalist architecture, bedrooms use color sparingly but draw deep on texture and pattern, with geometric fabrics on cushions and carpet, and bathrooms carved from warm stone—a white tub taking pride of place.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Used sparingly, Brazil nuts can add flavor and nutrients to meals like burritos, pancakes, or banana bread.
—Abby Norman, Verywell Health, 21 Apr. 2026
Path tracing, a more realistic form of ray tracing, has been used by some games since, but its high demands mean it's still used sparingly.
—Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 20 Apr. 2026
Groves, who has three years of eligibility remaining, played sparingly for a good Red Raiders team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament last month.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2026
They were also pruned sparingly, if at all, since pruning shortens the life of a birch.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
Anderson was with Hafley and Sullivan in Green Bay as a special teams contributor who played sparingly on defense.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sparingly
Adverb
-
That reflects poorly on the players, but Rosenior did not provide any convincing answers.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The story was plodding, the characters frustrating, and the transitions through time poorly executed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Builders can’t build cheaply enough to generate the loan sizes that fall through the cracks of the mortgage system.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
-
But the fact that countries hold their wealth in United States dollars, which allows the United States government to borrow more cheaply, that’s a product of the system.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
22 Apr. 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
-
The Khoo clan were among the wealthy immigrants from Fujian, China, who arrived in the 19th century and quickly established themselves both economically and culturally.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Without careful scrutiny, investors risk paying premium valuations for technological capabilities that are still experimental, limited in scope, or economically immaterial.—
Perrie M. Weiner,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 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
-
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
-
Fraser hopes against hope that this whole debacle will increase their tip, however meagerly.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
5 Aug. 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 29 Apr. 2026.
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