sparsely

[spahrs-lee]

adverb

1. in a thinly distributed way; not thickly or densely.

   Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is very sparsely populated, as more than 90% of it is forested.

2. in a scanty or meager way.

   It was a large kitchen, but very sparsely equipped for cooking.

Other Word Forms

• unsparsely adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of sparsely¹

sparse ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Regarding evacuations, Napa County Sheriff Oscar Ortiz said Saturday that many evacuees were in “rural and so sparsely populated” areas and that “we hope to get those folks home as soon as possible.”

From Los Angeles Times

The National Guard troops and Marines wound up sparsely deployed in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

"In Peru, the system was designed around profitability. No effort was made to connect sparsely populated areas," explains Carlos Gordillo, an energy expert at the University of Santa María in Arequipa.

From BBC

Heat waves, hurricanes and other disasters have been the subject of similar research, but wildfires can be challenging to study when they erupt in rural, sparsely populated regions.

From Los Angeles Times

The area near the epicenter off Siberia’s Kamchatka Peninsula did see damage, but it was sparsely populated.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• casually 
• delicately 
• easily 
• faintly www.thesaurus.com
• freely 
• gingerly 
• mildly 
• moderately 
• quietly 
• simply 
• slightly 
• softly 
• subtly 
• tenderly 
• thinly www.thesaurus.com