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sparingly

sparingly

15 3.5
Using only a small amount
  • adverb
  • /ˈspɛrɪŋli/
translation icon : con moderación
  • You use it sparingly to stop aggression when you have to.
  • use sparingly
  • apply sparingly

People would be surprised how sparingly I use things like that.

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Examples

  • She applied the moisturizer sparingly to keep her skin from feeling greasy.

  • Teach children how to annotate the text sparingly, because too much highlighting can cause children to lose focus.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Use what you have sparingly, but keep them up there.

  • Use it sparingly, will you?

  • People would be surprised how sparingly I use things like that.

  • We need our troops, but we should use them sparingly, only when we're sure it benefits our defense.

  • And I use the term sparingly, to be honest, because I know it's a term that people struggle with.

  • I was careful to use it sparingly.

  • I'm gonna go get some ice chips, but you have to use them sparingly.

  • Detaining suspected terrorists without trial is a practice that democracies should use as carefully and sparingly as possible.

    Academic text (2004)

Synonyms

lightly
vssparingly
55 1.0

With only a small amount of food or drink

is used more broadly for limited amounts in any context
minimally
vssparingly
22 3.7

A very small amount that is almost not noticeable

means restraint and moderation, not necessarily the absolute smallest amount
temperately
vssparingly
1 6.5

Act in a calm way without doing too much

focuses on using limited quantities with conscious restraint
sparely
vssparingly
3.9

Using only a small amount

is about doing things with restraint rather than only small quantity
abstemiously
vssparingly
  • Formal
9.1

Eating and drinking in a moderate way

applies restraint across actions, not only to eating or drinking

Antonyms

32 3.0

To a degree that is more than needed or acceptable

How Much

lavishly
11 5.6
generously
49 2.0
moderately
47 2.8
sparingly
15 3.5
scarcely
68 4.2

Surface Forms

sparingly positive
sparinglier comparative
sparingliest superlative

Morphology

sparingly = sparing (transparent) = spare + ing + ly

Regular adverbial formation from the adjective 'sparing' using the productive suffix '-ly', yielding 'in a sparing manner'.

Etymology

Sparingly comes from the word spare, which meant 'to give little' or 'to keep something back'. So, to act sparingly is to use something in small amounts, like adding only a little salt or saving a spare for later.