sparse

[ spahrs ]

adjective

, spars·er, spars·est.

1. thinly scattered or distributed:

   a sparse population.

   Antonyms: abundant

2. not thick or dense; thin:

   sparse hair.

   Antonyms: abundant

3. scanty; meager.

   Antonyms: abundant

sparse

/ spɑːs /

adjective

1. scattered or scanty; not dense

Derived Forms

• ˈsparseness, noun
• ˈsparsely, adverb

Other Words From

• sparse·ly adverb
• spar·si·ty [spahr, -si-tee], sparse·ness noun
• un·sparse adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sparse¹

First recorded in 1715–25; from Latin sparsus, past participle of spargere “to scatter,” sparge

Word History and Origins

Origin of sparse¹

C18: from Latin sparsus, from spargere to scatter

Synonym Study

See scanty.

Example Sentences

Most neural circuits employ what’s called “sparse coding,” in that only a handful of neurons, when stimulated in a way that mimics natural firing, can artificially trigger visual or olfactory sensations.

From Singularity Hub 

At the time, it was growing clear that sales of the iPhone — Apple’s biggest money maker — were destined to slow down as innovations grew sparse and consumers kept their old devices for longer.

From Fortune

When this energy field eventually grows sparse, the cosmos starts to gently deflate.

From Quanta Magazine

The data, delivered via news release like that from numerous other companies rushing to show progress, had not been peer-reviewed and other details about the company’s DNA-based vaccine were sparse.

From Science News

When food is distributed in sparse patches that can regenerate quickly and an animal has no sensory guidance to where the food is, Lévy walks are the mathematically optimal search strategy for blindly discovering a meal.

From Quanta Magazine

Related Words

• inadequate
• infrequent
• meager
• scant
• scanty
• scarce
• skimpy
• sporadic
• thin