Sparsely
/ˈspɑːrsli/
Definitions
In a way that is thinly dispersed or scattered.
/ˈspɑːrsli/
In a scattered or thinly distributed manner.
The stars were sparsely visible through the clouds.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're putting sprinkles on a cake. If you put very few sprinkles, so you can see a lot of the cake underneath, that's sparsely. It means there isn't much of something.
👶 For kids: Like when there are only a few things spread out, not close together.
More Examples
The evidence presented was sparsely documented.
The forest was sparsely populated with wildlife.
How It's Used
"The population is sparsely distributed across the vast desert."
"The plants were sparsely scattered, struggling to find enough water."
"Resources are often sparsely allocated, requiring careful management."
Synonyms
From Middle English *sparsly*, from Old English *sparslīce* ("sparingly, sparingly, sparingly, scantly, thinly"), equivalent to *sparse* + *-ly*. Related to Old English *spær* ("sparse, sparing").
Used in various texts since the early 17th century, often in geographical and scientific contexts to describe distribution or quantity.
Memory tip
Think of 'sparse' as having few things, 'ly' makes it an adverb: sparsely means things are distributed with few of them.