sparse
adj. B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈspɑɹs// UK //spˈɑːs// sparse
adj. small in amount or spread out over a large area. You use this to describe things that are thin or not crowded, like hair or trees.
adj. thinly dispersed or scattered; not dense or crowded. Often describes vegetation, population, or physical features where elements are far apart.
The desert has very sparse vegetation.
The audience for the late-night screening was sparse, with only a few people scattered across the back row.
The author's sparse prose style avoids unnecessary adjectives, forcing the reader to focus on the raw emotional weight of the dialogue.
Borrowed from Latin sparsus.
Usage
Typically used attributively before a noun or predicatively after a linking verb like 'be' or 'become'.
- Adjectivesparse
- Adverbsparsely