sparing

[ spair-ing ]
See synonyms for sparing on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. economical (often followed by in or of).

  2. lenient or merciful.

Origin of sparing

1
A Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at spare, -ing2

Other words for sparing

Other words from sparing

  • spar·ing·ly, adverb
  • spar·ing·ness, noun
  • non·spar·ing, adjective
  • o·ver·spar·ing, adjective
  • o·ver·spar·ing·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sparing in a sentence

  • To make up for this defect—if sparingness in words be really a defect—I have written the following pages.

  • Books are cold, jejune, vexatious in their sparingness of information at one time and their impertinent loquacity at another.

    Arthur Mervyn | Charles Brockden Brown
  • Habits of modesty and of sparingness might perhaps deprive the world of as much wealth as they would save.

    Laurus Nobilis | Vernon Lee
  • It is not your sin—it is your self-satisfaction that crieth unto heaven; your very sparingness in sin crieth unto heaven!

    Thus Spake Zarathustra | Friedrich Nietzsche

British Dictionary definitions for sparing

sparing

/ (ˈspɛərɪŋ) /


adjective
  1. (sometimes foll by with or of) economical or frugal (with)

  2. scanty; meagre

  1. merciful or lenient

Derived forms of sparing

  • sparingly, adverb
  • sparingness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012