sparing

[ spair-ing ]

adjective

1. economical (often followed by in or of ).

   Synonyms: penurious, saving, frugal

2. lenient or merciful.
3. scanty; limited.

   Synonyms: sparse, meager

sparing

/ ˈspɛərɪŋ /

adjective

1. sometimes foll bywith or of economical or frugal (with)
2. scanty; meagre
3. merciful or lenient

Derived Forms

• ˈsparingness, noun
• ˈsparingly, adverb

Other Words From

• spar·ing·ly adverb
• spar·ing·ness noun
• non·spar·ing adjective
• o·ver·spar·ing adjective
• o·ver·spar·ing·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sparing¹

A Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; spare, -ing ²

Example Sentences

Beat the Republic Of Ireland and they will be back in the top tier, sparing Tuchel the possibility of a play-off in March.

From BBC

The drug ATT001, which is given weekly for four to six weeks, is potent over short distances, causing lethal damage to cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.

From BBC

Instead, Milton veered south, making landfall near Siesta Key and thus sparing Tampa from the worst-case scenarios that many had predicted.

From Slate

He is also well-known for not sparing his players, with old footage of Tuchel in a fierce rage, delivering an incendiary training ground dressing down to Shawn Parker when he was at Mainz surfacing again recently.

From BBC

There have been no significant damaging earthquakes underneath California’s oldest, most populous cities in the last 30 years, sparing places like Los Angeles, San José, San Francisco, Long Beach and Oakland from seismically related deaths and destruction.

From Los Angeles Times