spared

American  

[spaird] / spɛərd /

adjective

1. left intact; not damaged, punished, destroyed, killed, etc..

   After a seven-month siege they captured the city, and the spared captives were taken into exile.

   After a brain injury in early childhood, language function is typically transferred to the spared hemisphere.

2. dispensed with or done without.

   I finally obtained a little ready money by converting some easily spared articles of jewelry into cash.

3. used frugally or not used; withheld; not spent.

   At no spared effort or expense, the enhanced design protocol has been applied to all the products in our new lineup.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of spare.

Other Word Forms

• unspared adjective

Etymology

Origin of spared

First recorded in 1575–85; spare ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; spare ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

They then talked their way into an assignment in Colorado training Special Forces soldiers to ski and climb mountains, a job that spared them from being sent to fight in Korea.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Even the ancient statues in the capital’s National Museum — those that weren’t stolen — weren’t spared.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

“With no expense spared, this property boasts luxury quality construction, with grand scale and volume throughout, flooded with fresh air and brilliant Southern California sunlight,” the description stated.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

In practice, instances when parents are spared are becoming increasingly rare, said Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, a former ICE official who oversaw implementation of the directive at ICE during the Obama and first Trump administrations.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

“Be assured, sir,” said he, “no pains or exertions on my part shall be spared to discover the villain.”

From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

Related Words

• immune