sparse

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Very little confidence can be placed in statements about average global surface temperatures prior to A.D. 900 because the proxy data for that time frame are sparse, the committee added.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. adjective Occurring, growing, or settled at widely spaced intervals; not thick or dense.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (48)

  • The lighting is sparse, the cinematography captures the two people in soulful but spirited silhouettes suggesting a power play that transcends sex gender and the nowness of the experience. —  Bollywood Entertainment News | India
  • A number of the neighbors of the properties were concerned that the White family was conducting its planning in secret because details released in the legal ad regarding the management district proposal were sparse, and neighbors said they hadn't been brought into the planning loop - or had their concerns addressed by the property owners. —  The Gazette-Enterprise: News
  • Even though sparse, the iQuest web page looks very intriguing … best of luck … —  WordPress.com News
  • A lot of the band's earlier recordings are quite sparse, and of course you were working with fewer band members than you are now … —  Comments for BrightestYoungThings
  • 'Dark Was The Night' which gave this set its name; The Decemberists possibly indulge themselves slightly with an eight-minute folk strum; Iron & Wine do exactly the opposite with the sparse, affecting 'Die' (a blink-and-you'll-miss-it 67 seconds); an on-song Yeasayer; oh, and a certain Sufjan Stevens. —  Drowned In Sound // Feed
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

scanty ·  bushy ·  luxuriant ·  dense ·  close-cropped ·  wispy ·  feathery ·  curly ·  silky ·  wiry ·  reddish ·  sandy
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin sparsus, past participle of spargere, to scatter.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Old French espars, French épars = Portuguese esparso, scattered, from Latin sparsus, past participle of spargere, scatter, sprinkle (later Italian spargere = Spanish esparcir = Portuguese espargir, scatter): see sparge. Cf. sparse, v., sperse, disperse.
  2. from Old French esparser, esparcer, from Latin sparsus, past participle of spargere, scatter: see sparse, adjective Cf. sperse, disperse, sparge.
 

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/spɑrs/
by American Heritage

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