Dictionary

sparsely en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English sparse Middle English -ly English -ly English sparsely From sparse + -ly.

Meanings

1. In a scattered or sparse manner; widely apart; thinly.
   • a sparsely populated region
   • Troutbeck is a tiny village midway between Penrith and Keswick in a very sparsely populated part of Cumberland, and it used to be said by facetious travellers that the reason why it ever had a station at all was to give the engine a rest after it had struggled up the long and trying incline from Threlkeld. 1951 October, “Notes and News: The Harmonium at Troutbeck”, in Railway Magazine, page 709:

Forms

Synonyms

scantily

Translations (12)

et hõredalt (in a scattered or sparse manner) · pl rzadko (in a scattered or sparse manner) · hu szórványosan (in a scattered or sparse manner) · cs řídce (in a scattered or sparse manner) · bg разпръснато (in a scattered or sparse manner) · fi harvaan (in a scattered or sparse manner) · cs spoře (in a scattered or sparse manner) · ca escassament (in a scattered or sparse manner) · fi harvasti (in a scattered or sparse manner) · bg нарядко (in a scattered or sparse manner) · ca esparsament (in a scattered or sparse manner) · es escasamente (in a scattered or sparse manner)